Posted by Aron Lund on Saturday, March 16th, 2013

by Aron Lund, for Syria Comment

Is the FSA losing influence in Syria? How many people are in the FSA? Is the FSA receiving enough guns from the West, or too many? Will the FSA participate in elections after the fall of Bahar el-Assad? What is the ideology of the FSA? What’s the FSA’s view of Israel? Is Jabhat el-Nosra now bigger than the FSA? What does the FSA think about the Kurds? Who is the leader of the FSA? How much control does the central command of the FSA really have over their fighters?

All these and similar questions keep popping up in news articles and op-ed chinstrokers in the Western media, and in much of the Arabic media too.

They all deal with important issues, but they disregard an important fact: the FSA doesn’t really exist.

The original FSA: a branding operation

The FSA was created by Col. Riad el-Asaad and a few other Syrian military defectors in July 2011, in what may or may not have been a Turkish intelligence operation. To be clear, there’s no doubting the sincerity of the first batch of fighters, or suggest that they would have acted otherwise without foreign support. But these original FSA commanders were confined to the closely guarded Apaydın camp in Turkey, and kept separate from civilian Syrian refugees. Turkish authorities are known to have screened visitors and journalists before deciding whether they could talk to the officers. While this is not in itself evidence of a Turkish intelligence connection, it does suggest that this original FSA faction could not, how shall we say, operate with full autonomy from its political environment.

From summer onwards, new rebel factions started popping up in hundreds of little villages and city neighborhoods inside Syria, as an ever-growing number of local demonstrators were provoked into self-defense. The most important recruiting tool for this nascent insurgency was not the FSA and its trickle of videotaped communiqués on YouTube. Rather, it was Bashar el-Assad’s decision to send his army on a psychotic rampage through the Syrian Sunni Arab countryside. As the corpses piled up, more and more civilians started looking for guns and ammo, and the rebel movement took off with a vengeance.

While the new groups almost invariably grew out of a local context, and organized entirely on their own, most of them also declared themselves to be part of the FSA. They adopted its logotype, and would often publicly pledge allegiance to Col. Riad el-Asaad. As a branding operation, the FSA was a extraordinary success – but in most cases, the new “FSA brigades” had no connection whatsoever to their purported supreme commander in Turkey. In reality, what was emerging was a sprawling leaderless resistance of local fighters who shared only some common goals and an assemblage of FSA-inspired symbols.

The heyday of the FSA was in early/mid 2012, when new factions were being declared at a rate of several per week. But by mid-2012, the brand seemed to have run its course, as people soured on Col. Asaad and his exiles. The FSA term slowly began to slip out of use. By the end of the year, most of the big armed groups in Syria had stopped using it altogether, and one by one, they dropped or redesigned the old FSA symbols from their websites, logotypes, shoulder patches and letterheads. Their symbolic connection to the FSA leaders in Turkey was broken – and since no connection at all had existed outside the world of symbols, that was the end of that story.

The FSA brand name today

Today, the FSA brand name remains in use within the Syrian opposition, but mostly as a term for the armed uprising in general. It’s quite similar to how a French person would have employed the term “La Résistance” during WW2 – not in reference to a specific organization fighting against Hitler, but as an umbrella term for them all. With time, many people inside and outside Syria have started to use the FSA term to distinguish mainstream non-ideological or soft-Islamist groups from salafi factions. The salafis themselves used to be divided on the issue, but they aren’t anymore. The more ideological ones (like Jabhat el-nosra and Ahrar el-Sham) never used it, but at the start of the uprising, others did (like Liwa el-Islam and Suqour el-Sham).

One can’t disregard the fact that many Syrian opposition fighters will casually refer to themselves as FSA members, or that some armed factions actually self-designate as “a brigade of the FSA”. But that does not mean that they belong to some Syria-wide FSA command hierarchy: it’s still just a label, typically intended to market these groups as part of the opposition mainstream.

With time, then, the generally understood definition of the FSA term has gradually narrowed from its original scope, which encompassed almost the entire insurgency. Today, it is understood to apply mostly to army defectors (ex-Baathists), non-ideological fighters, and more moderate Islamists. But the dividing line is not really a question of ideology or organization, it is political. The FSA label is increasingly being used in the media as shorthand for those factions which receive Gulf/Western support and are open to collaboration with the USA and other Western nations.

That still doesn’t describe an actual organization, but at least it’s closer to a working definition of what the “FSA” would mean in a Syrian opposition context – a definition that can’t really decide what it includes, but which clearly excludes most of the anti-Western salafis, all of the hardcore salafi-jihadis, and, for example, the Kurdish YPG militia.

Free Syrian Armies

But is there no FSA organization at all? Oh, of course: there are many. Syria and Turkey currently host a whole bunch of defected officers who claim to be leaders of the FSA, or who are described as such by the media. Here’s a non-exhaustive list:

– First, there’s Col. Riad el-Asaad and his associates (such as Malik el-Kurdi, Ahmed el-Hejazi, and others) from the original FSA faction. This was the original FSA leadership, with a clearly defined command structure at the top. It just never got around to having any fighters. Nowadays, Col. Asaad has left the army camp in Turkey, moving back and forth across the border, but he seems to have been confined to the margins of rebel politics. He wasn’t even invited to the most recent rebel unity conferences. Never a quitter, though, he continues to give interviews as top FSA leader.

– Second, there’s his old rival, Brig. Gen. Mostafa el-Sheikh, who heads the FSA Military Council. After US, Qatari, Turkish and other pressure, Sheikh went into a joint FSA structure with Riad el-Asaad in March 2012, but that didn’t work out. After celebrating their newfound unity, both men continued to do their own thing. Sheikh remains active as a minor player in rebel politics, and an associate of his, Louai Meqdad, is frequently quoted in the media as “the FSA spokesperson”.

– Third, there’s Col. Qasem Saadeddine, who is the leader of a military council in the Homs Governorate (there are at least two such councils, and neither of them seems to function). In early 2012, he declared the creation of a unified internal command for the FSA, supposedly backed by five regional military councils, which would snatch command from the hands of Riad al-Asaad and the exiles. The whole thing almost instantly collapsed back into just representing Saadeddine and his sidekicks, but he’s still using the title.

– Fourth, there’s a Turkey-based guy called Bassam al-Dada, who is nowadays often quoted in the media as “the political advisor of the FSA”. No one seems to be quite sure which commander or group it is that Dada is advising, but he’s getting a lot of media attention anyway.

– Fifth, do you remember that thing about a “new name for the FSA”? In September 2012, the Syrian National Army was declared by Gen. Mohammed Hussein el-Hajj Ali, on the premise that it would absorb the FSA and all other armed groups into a single command structure. This was a huge project which actually got a lot of commanders to sign on, but it imploded just days after its creation, partly because Col. Riad el-Asaad and various Islamists sabotaged it by withholding support. It hasn’t been heard from since.

– Sixth, there’s also Gen. Adnan Selou, who defected in June 2012. A month later, he declared himself “Supreme Commander of the Joint Military Leadership”.

– Seventh, there’s a slightly mysterious American NGO called the Syrian Support Group (SSG). Many Syrians seem to believe that this is a CIA front, which is certainly possible, but I’ve seen no evidence either way. Since 2012, the SSG has been marketing a select set of pro-Western commanders in the so-called Military Council structure, by presenting them as the “real FSA” to the Western media. Most well-known among these commanders is Abdeljabbar el-Ogeidi, a mid-size leader in the Aleppo region.

– Eighth, in September 2012, a group of Military Council commanders and assorted rebel leaders gathered to create a Joint Command of the Revolutionary Military Councils. This was set up by the salafi sheikh Adnan el-Arour and a couple of his sidekicks, including people associated with Mostafa el-Sheikh (see above). Sponsorship also probably came from Qatar, and there were at the very least some quiet nods of support from the USA. This group didn’t use the FSA name, but the media still decided it was the FSA. It quickly ran into internal problems, and has now been succeeded by:

– Ninth, in December 2012, a Saudi-backed conference in Antalya, Turkey, set up a General Staff of the Supreme Joint Military Command Council, led by Brig. Gen. Salim Idriss. This group doesn’t formally use the FSA name, but the media has invariably described Idriss as “the newly appointed leader of the FSA”, thereby giving the term another lease on life. The General Staff got the support of most of the factions that had already been receiving Western and Gulf State support in some way.

So, what do all of these groups have in common? Two things: all of them keep appearing in the media as representatives and leaders of the FSA, and none of them have any boots on the ground.

Well, to be fair: some of these commanders may enjoy the formal allegiance of a few tiny factions inside Syria, either paid for by foreign sponsors, or adopted through political alliances. For example, Riad el-Asaad has belatedly attached himself to the Muslim Brotherhood, and is now showing up at their conferences to grant an FSA stamp of approval to Ikhwani armed units. But that doesn’t really make him a significant rebel commander.

Salim Idriss and the General Staff

A semi-exception to the rule is the General Staff of Brig. Gen. Salim Idriss, which is the most recent attempt to create a mainstream Western/Gulf-backed military leadership. Call it FSA if you want to.

The General Staff has received a formal pledge of allegiance from many commanders who themselves have a substantial personal following. Examples include Ahmed el-Sheikh of the Suqour el-Sham salafi group in Idleb, and his local partner-cum-rival Jamal Maarouf of the Shuhada Souriya faction. If all the factions which have declared in favor of Idriss were added up, they’d count at least 50,000 men, perhaps many more. But in reality, of course, they only follow their own leaders, and won’t take orders from Idriss. The elaborate command structure which has been released by the General Staff is a figment of the imagination, intended to create the impression of a unified organization that isn’t there.

Still, no matter how shallow and ephemeral their allegiance to Brig. Gen. Idriss may be, no other opposition figure can point to a similar show of support from the armed movement inside Syria. The reason for this widespread endorsement of Brig. Gen. Idriss isn’t his personal charm, good looks or presumed brilliance as a military strategist – it’s a lot simpler than that. See, there was an immediate payoff for attending the Antalya conference and pledging allegiance to Brig. Gen. Idriss and his General Staff: You got guns.

Just when the Antalya conference to create the General Staff was held, in December 2012, fresh shipments of weapons & ammo started pouring into northern Syria, secretly shipped in from Croatia and other sources (this has been well covered by bloggers like Brown Moses and correspondents like C. J. Chivers). And what do you know, both the General Staff’s Antalya conference and these Croatian guns seem to have been paid for by Saudi Arabia. Coincidence? Not likely. Judging from who’s been seen firing the weapons, they seem to have been distributed more or less among the commanders who endorsed the General Staff. And that was always the idea: The General Staff was set up as a flag to rally the Western/Gulf-backed factions around, and probably also a funding channel and an arms distribution network, rather than as an actual command hierarchy. Idriss’s foreign sponsors do of course hope that it will eventually solidify into the latter, but we haven’t seen it happen yet.

What we talk about when we talk about the FSA

So, to conclude: The FSA term is now used by the media in mostly four ways:

Many lazy reporters use the FSA name to describe Syria’s leading, secular guerrilla group. That group doesn’t exist, so please stop making it up.

Other (non-lazy) reporters will often feel compelled to use the FSA term when referring to certain self-designated FSA leaders and spokespersons (like Riad el-Asaad, Bassam el-Dada, Qasem Saadeddine, etc). This is fine – in fact, it’s even a journalistic necessity, since quotes should of course be properly attributed. But one should also make an attempt to clarify to readers/viewers what this purported “FSA” representative actually represents. It’s not likely to be a calculable percentage of the rebel force inside Syria. (If you want that, it’s better to talk to commanders or press officials of the rebel groups who do the actual fighting on the ground. Many of them have posted phone numbers, e-mail addresses and Skype IDs to their websites and Facebook pages, and they’re generally eager to communicate with reporters.)

Some will also use the FSA term to mean Syria’s armed opposition in general, or perhaps specifically the Western/Gulf-funded segments of it. That’s OK, but then you should also make note of the fact that you’re not talking about a real organization, or even an alliance with a joint leadership or common ideology. The lack of clarity on this point has misinformed public opinion for about a year now, and that needs to stop.

And finally, many reporters will use the FSA term to refer to those rebels inside Syria that do in fact themselves use the FSA label. This is technically correct, I suppose, but it would be a lot more helpful to identify such factions by their full names or by the names of their commanders. That they also happen to use the FSA label tells us virtually nothing about who they are or what they’re fighting for, but it does create the false impression that FSA faction X in Aleppo is somehow linked to FSA faction Y in Deraa, and to FSA spokesperson Z in Istanbul. In 95 percent of cases, that’s not true.

Shorter version of the above: Let’s say it again, the FSA doesn’t exist – at least not as commonly perceived. Global Syria coverage would be a lot less confusing if journalists didn’t persist in pretending that it does.

There are of course insurgent alliances that actually do exist. For example, we’ve recently seen the creation of the Syrian Islamic Front (homegrown Syrian salafis, who don’t take Western money, and don’t call themselves FSA), and there’s the Syrian Liberation Front (a loose collection of Western/Gulf-funded salafis and more moderate Islamists. Before creating the SLF, these groups used to call themselves FSA, and they still tend to be lumped in with the FSA by many news reporters), the Shields of the Revolution (Muslim Brotherhood affiliates, who themselves occasionally use the FSA term), or the locally based Ansar el-Islam Gathering (an Islamist coalition in Damascus, members of which used to call themselves FSA, but don’t anymore).

But these groups have so far received near-zero coverage in the Western media. All we ever hear about is the FSA and Jabhat al-Nosra, as if these two organizations represented two rival wings of the insurgency. Since only one of them actually exists, it would be one wing at best, and that doesn’t fly.

My modest proposal

So here’s my suggestion to journalists and editors who, like me, are writing about the Syrian war from a distance:

Instead of saying that the “FSA” has conquered this or that village, just report the names of the groups involved. If they say that they’re the “Fulan ibn Fulan Battalion of the FSA”, then write the full name, not just “the FSA”. The distinguishing “Fulan ibn Fulan” part is more likely to be operationally relevant than the semi-fictional alliance name they’ve tagged to the end of their name.

And, if the recent video statement on “a glorious battle of conquest” from the “Joint Command of the Super Power Islamic Hawks Battalion of the Free Syrian Army (Idleb Wing)” seems a little over the top, you could just stick to reality. Better write: “According to photographic evidence seen by this reporter, it seems like ten guys from a tiny village outside Idleb have recently been lobbing mortar shells at a blurry target in the distance while shouting ’Allahu Akbar’.”

Or, if information’s missing, as is often the case, just attribute the action by using a non-specific identifier – e.g. rebels, revolutionaries, insurgents, terrorists, paramilitary opposition factions, armed groups, freedom fighters, anti-Assad guerrillas, or whatever you think they really are.

This kind of calibration might take a little bit more research than simply slapping the FSA label on every opposition member with a gun in Syria. But at least your articles won’t be, you know – wrong.

Truth be told

All this said, I wish that the FSA did exist.

A unified rebel leadership would spare Syria much of the bloodshed that lies ahead. Not just because an organized rebel army would pack more of a punch in the struggle against Bashar el-Assad’s fascist dictatorship, and could put a leash on the most unpleasant salafi extremist factions. But also – and this matters a lot more than the fate of either Assad or al-Qaida – because only a functioning opposition leadership will be able to minimize the period of Lebanon-style armed anarchy and sectarian bloodshed that lies ahead for Syria, and help reestablish a central government when Assad’s is gone for good.

Unfortunately, my mere wishing won’t make it so. But neither will sloppy and distorted news reporting.

Comments (665)

When referring to “FSA” rebels fighters, journalists now seem to prefer using “Islamist fighters’ which reflects more the truth of who is conducting the attacks and the emerged ideology behind them

My favorite excerpt from Lund’s post:

“And, if the recent video statement on ”a glorious battle of conquest” from the ”Joint Command of the Super Power Islamic Hawks Battalion of the Free Syrian Army (Idleb Wing)” seems a little over the top, you could just stick to reality. Better write: ”According to photographic evidence seen by this reporter, it seems like ten guys from a tiny village outside Idleb have recently been lobbing mortar shells at a blurry target in the distance while shouting ’Allahu Akbar’.”

The FSA never existed as an army with a unified and structured body of command, this has been stated here on sc for over a year. This fact is a major reason why many of us, anti and pro regime, are very worried that the country is getting dominated by hundreds of armed gangs with only few disciplined units , those gangs follow orders from local militia gang leaders and often they do not take orderes from anybody .Many of you are shedding tears over the days of Saddam when Iraqis have to worry about regime thugs instead of having to deal with armies of thugs and criminals, ironically that is what armed rebellions bring to countries like Syria. Comparing the war in Syria to national wars of liberation is a deliberate attempt to glamorize a civil war that is not getting rid of a foreign occupier but rather cleansing Syria from its own people to benefit Israel, turkey and the GCC .
You can not fix stupid,
طز فيكم و بالثوره تبعكن

We thank HAFEZ AL ASSAD DA BOSS and the Corrective Movement for building such HUUUGE stockpile of missiles and rockets, SYRIA has as many as 20,000 Surface-to-Surface ballistic Missile and millions of artillery rockets.

This is truly beautiful. It is perhaps the most honest admission on SC of the so-called rat victories.

Someone should force all the terrorist supporters here to read it a 1000 times a day strapped to chairs with their eyelids pried open like in that movie Clockwork Orange.

“And, if the recent video statement on ”a glorious battle of conquest” from the ”Joint Command of the Super Power Islamic Hawks Battalion of the Free Syrian Army (Idleb Wing)” seems a little over the top, you could just stick to reality. Better write: ”According to photographic evidence seen by this reporter, it seems like ten guys from a tiny village outside Idleb have recently been lobbing mortar shells at a blurry target in the distance while shouting ’Allahu Akbar’.”

Tara it is time for you to grow up and _*^% or get off the pot about your rat army. You’ve never been to Syria. Admit it. You’re some sort of bot program paid for by Hillary Clinton. I’ve read about these sorts of things.

If you were really Syrian you would know that 99.999999999999% of the people in Syria support Bashar and will gladly die for him. FYI many SAA volunteers are demanding to be sent directly to the front with sarin gas cluster bombs. Our commanders have to restrain them. Real Syrians want to “get in there” and kill a few terrorists for raping and terrifying Syrian women and girls. It is what honorable men do.

Of course the situation in Syria is far from ideal. But Syria got to this point because of the economic and foreign policies of Assad. His economic policies created a frustrated and humiliated mass of Syrians that wanted to change their conditions and had no credible peaceful method to do so. And Assad’s foreign policies made sure that these internal conflicts will be used by outside forces to further their own interests. Assad alienated the Gulf states for many years (remember the “half men” comment) and he has been able to alienate Turkey very quickly once the unrest started. Not to mention the West with which Assad always had a troubled relationship.

Now, it seems that you are saying that since their chance of success was small, and/or the destruction it would bring Syria is large, the forces for change in Syria should not have even tried standing up to Assad. If you are not saying this, then what do you think would have been the right way to bring change to Syria? Criticizing something without arguing for a credible alternative is not constructive.

Aaron is saying there is no centralized command structure that is the FSA but there are many fragmented fighting groups. This looks the case to me also. Why be like the idiot regime supporters who deny reality and therefore cannot solve any problem? The facts are what they are. Now, a solution needs to be found because as Aaron states, the faster the fighting groups form a coherent structure the sooner the fascist regime in Syria will go.

I understand there is no centralized command but there are secular rebels and brigades not affiliated with Islamists and home-grown that are fighting to topple al Assad. This needs to be made clear otherwise having a flashy title that an FSA does not exist only play into scaremongering the regime and its supporters have long resorted to in order to discourage arming the rebels.

It has already been determined from the two previous posts of Aron Lund, that the guy is a pathetic reporter not worth reading. It was also made clear by many to Dr. Landis at the time that the guy is a wacko.

Syria’s President Bashar Assad on Saturday called on the BRICS nations to intervene to end the conflict in his country, in a letter delivered by his adviser Bouthaina Shaaban during a trip to South Africa.

Speaking to Agence France Presse, Shaaban said she had delivered the letter to South African President Jacob Zuma ahead of the BRICS summit in South Africa on March 26.

“Today I passed a message from President Bashar Assad to President Jacob Zuma, who will preside over the March 26 BRICS summit, on the subject of the situation in Syria,” Shaaban said, reached by telephone from Beirut.

“In this message, President Bashar Assad asks for intervention by the BRICS to stop the violence in his country and encourage the opening of a dialogue, which he wishes to start.”

Shaaban said during the meeting with Zuma, which was also attended by South Africa’s foreign minister, “the president was very positive and deplored the destruction affecting this beautiful country.”

A brigadier general and about 20 soldiers defected from the Syrian army in two separate incidents on Saturday, activists said, in another sign that the strength of President Bashar al-Assad’s armed forces is diminishing.

Brigadier General Mohammed Khalouf appeared dressed in a camouflage military uniform in a video on Al Arabiya news channel and said he had planned his escape with the opposition movement for some time.

“It is not possible for anyone to accept any of the ideas of this regime unless they have achieved special interests,” he said in the video.

The train has already left the station, the rebels are not only being armed but are also being trained. And they will keep coming in through Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. So the scaremongering has not worked. Why do you think the regime idiots are foaming at the mouth against Turkey and Jordan?

Two years ago Bashar al-Heraki helped organise one of the first anti-government protests in Syria’s southern city of Deraa, where the country’s uprising began. It followed the arrest of a group of school children for painting revolutionary slogans on a wall. Mr Heraki told the BBC World Service how the demonstrations began.
On 17 March 2011, I was with a group of people preparing for a protest. The next day we went to al-Omari mosque in Deraa. The Syrian revolution started from there. We thought our protest would annoy the regime but we didn’t expect government forces to use gunfire from the start to kill protesters.

(Bashar al-Heraki:
Served as a captain in the Syrian army until 1999
Ran an engineering and trading company in Deraa before the uprising
Fled Syria with his family in 2011 fearing arrest
His brother, Nizar al-Heraki, is the opposition’s “ambassador” in Qatar
Senior member of the opposition Syrian National Council)

When we came out of the mosque some people started chanting: “God, Syria, freedom.” The regime saw that as defiance against them, because people had replaced the last part of a slogan, which was supposed to be [President] Bashar al-Assad, with the word freedom. So the regime reacted by killing and injuring many protesters.
I was taking photos. It surprised us that Bashar al-Assad’s forces were heavy-handed from the beginning. They didn’t try to issue any warnings, they just charged us straight away. They didn’t use tear gas or water cannon. They fired at us from the start.
(Source: BBC)

Syria about 3 hours agoSyrian rebels have taken control of areas close to Damascus, where intense fighting has effectively shut down the country’s main international airport to anything but military flights.

Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Zaidan, reporting from inside the capital, said Free Syrian Army fighters have extended their hold on the eastern half of the area of Ghouta on Saturday, as heavy fighting flared up in several parts around the city.

Two years ago Bashar al-Heraki helped organise one of the first anti-government protests in Syria’s southern city of Deraa, where the country’s uprising began. It followed the arrest of a group of school children for painting revolutionary slogans on a wall. Mr Heraki told the BBC World Service how the demonstrations began.

On 17 March 2011, I was with a group of people preparing for a protest. The next day we went to al-Omari mosque in Deraa. The Syrian revolution started from there. We thought our protest would annoy the regime but we didn’t expect government forces to use gunfire from the start to kill protesters.
[…]

Are your posts retrospective laments or are you suggesting a way forward? What you say is interesting but it is never clear what you think a good strategy to move forward would be. Sometimes you have to pick one of several bad options when no good options are available. Not choosing is also making a choice.

Russia is definitely taking on level-up frustration towards UK and France, especially those two just got a shot on their feet at EU meeting. But everyone knows UK and France will not just stop there.

There is now an urgency for Russia to send in more weapons to the regime. For instance, more advanced thermobaric weapons for infantry which they have used successfully in Chechnya. Possibly, Iran is going to pick up the bill.

Iran has got swept in Syrian civil war without choice. It is no longer a shadow war against them. It is an open war from US, Israel, GCC and all Sunni fundamentalists. Unfortunately, Iran is not the one to blame for its involvement. It would be just stupid and naive not to initiate a self-protection by supporting the regime. Sadly to say, among other coward and corrupted ME countries, Iran might be a serious contender against Israeli aggression in ME.

Lebanon is under pressure from HB and the regime to show actions to seriously put itself in a neutral position. Inaction to its faction to directly get involved militarily in Syrian business will have consequence from internal and external groups. In Tripoli, one of the burnt Syrian tanker truck by the rebel supporters or rebels themselves exploded and injured 6 Lebanese including 3 children. This might be what will happen in a much larger scale.

Turkey will stay on its track for a while. After terrorist attack at the border crossing, Ergodan promised a tough and forceful response after they found the perpetrators. Well, they claimed they caught those to be connected to Syrian secret agency. Yet, the Turkey government did nothing to keep up their promises. What a shame! See, their promise started with a sham: if they found out their pampered Islamists did it, what would they do? Spank them? If the regime was behind it, would we see Turkey dares to retaliate forcefully? Who are we kidding?

Jordan does not have the strength or foundation of stability like Turkey has. Yet, its government decided to get involved deeper under the pressure from US. If this policy falters, the blowback might be powerful enough to end the king’s dynasty.

Iraqi government is weak. But it is still strong enough to stamp out the Sunni insurgency no matter how many bombs they plant among civilians. Will the Iraqi government further get involved depends on how much more harassment and humiliation they need to sustain from those Sunni Jihadists.

Hezbollah is in a little subtle situation. They have the rights and priorities to preserve themselves to consolidate their base in Lebanon. They cannot risk themselves to directly and openly get involved in Syria. But if the future attack from the rebels is getting crystallized, then they will not hesitate to join in the fight. At this moment, they are not there yet.

Israel might start to have second thought about their plan for designed outcome for future Syria. They are closely watching those rebels in Golan Heights and any possible hostile rebel groups. I would suggest them to watch out their border with Jordan more closely. Potential future threats might come from there.

Finally US government, right after Kerry assured his peers and other diplomatic members that US government was confident to guarantee weapons would go to the ”right” rebel factions. A group of rebels with newly gift-wrapped Croatia weapons kidnapped UN peacekeepers. Ouch, that slap on face came too fast. Good thing is that Kerry is not such a sensitive man. He can certainly take it with just a grin but US policy might be under more scrutiny by law makers. We shall see what will come out from US administration.

What I would really like to see is credible estimates of the following:

How many percentage-wise of the total rebel forces fighting on the ground can accuately be described as –
1. Foreign fighters come to Syria for jihad?
2. Sunni vs. other ethno-religous groups (if any)?
3. Islamist (as in wanting a Sunni Islamic-based state/caliphate)
vs. ‘secular, democratic, and freedom-lovin” (if any)?

Thanks in advance for any feedback

Mark Sleboda
Senior Lecturer and Researcher in IR Theory and Security Studies
Moscow State University

The human Casualties of these “heavy gunned” face to face charges on protesters should have been in the hundreds of dead and wounded, unless the security did not know how to shoot, or they were shooting in the air or in legitimate defense when attacked by violent means.
How many casualties were reported that day? How many civilians and how many security agents? Cause of death?
“many”. He does not remember? Strange…

Of course they had no tear gas or rubber bullet, they were not ready to face protests already infiltrated by violent snipers and Islamist terrorists.

Mr Dark saw the light:
edward dark @edwardedark
“I am officially, as of now neutral in #Syria ‘s ongoing civil war. both sides are just as barbaric inhumane & criminal as each other”
AIG,
using violence did not help the cause of freedom and democracy, it only increased the number of casualties by 10 folds and it also deepended divisions inside Syria, violence also gave thugs like the Nusra monkey on this blog a window to talk instead of allowing people with a brain a chance to look for an exit.
the argument that we are here because the regime was violent from the beginning is a cover to run away from the fact that the armed rebels are as guilty as regime thugs in the destruction we see in Syria today, it does not matter who caused more destruction, the disparity is not due to the rebels’ good intentions,it is simply because they do not have jets and they do not possess enough heavy weapons, they are as evil as regime troops that are shelling civillinas and that is why I am against giving them more weapons, I also support an arms embargo that prevents the flow of weapons to the regime. another “mistake” was allowing alqaeda access to Syria, that “mistake” was a replica of what others did in the past thinking that they can befriend terrorists for a while then expect them to depart when the job is done. Turkey and Qatar have Syrian blood on their hands for supporting terrorists and indeed playing favorites when it comes to who gets what, the result is an armed rebellion, not a revolution, that is dominated by islamists and heaviy inflitrated by foreign jihadists.
As for Israel, I do not believe a two state solution is possible, such a solution can only be viable when there is a level of parity between the two fighting factions, israelis and arabs have to learn how to live as neighbours and accept each other, the truth is that Arabs failed in liberating their land but Israel can not fight forever, the numbers are heavily tilted in favor of non jewish population. in a strange way, arabs and israelis may evetualy have to fight enemies within their ranks to reach peace, that peace requires an arab side governed by moderate and accountable regimes that accpt elections and an israeli side that does not discount the legitimate rights of Palestinians, the syrian war makes it less likely that a peace deal will be reached but it will make it much harder for palestinians to win any concessions from Israel.

I think the rebels or their cheerleaders should not fool themselves or try to fool us. The rebels are far from being capable to take Damascus. The day the regime loses Damascus is the day we can declare Assad a warlord.

Any so-called gain in Damascus area is unrealistic. What concerns us is the casualties of SAA.

I was not so sure about SAA’s strength until they took back Darraya.

SAA has been patient and they literally took their fight inside rebel held towns and engaged them. That strategy will incur much more casualty if the rebels manage to get more sophisticated weapons. And that was why in my previous post that I believe Russia is closely watching the ground development. And their upgraded supply of weapons will reflect the need on the ground.

In those cases, more Syrians will die. I have not seen sign of Syrians getting tired of killing each other so we might just have to be patient until international players finally reach a consensus to end the killing.

It is wrong to say FSA does not exist, all who fight against Assad ,when you ask them they say they belong to Free Syrian Army, but the truth is that they are not united.

Mini-Apple said
What concerns us is the casualties of SAA.

I was not so sure about SAA’s strength until they took back Darraya.

Darayya is not taken completely by Assad troops,more than half of it is under the control of the FSA,so your assertion is wrong, second, you should be concerned about Assad troops casualties,they are not replaceable,as their number dwindles,Assad power diminishes, when they are wiped out, there is not going to be enough to establish Alawi state.
If Assad lose Damascus he is gone and Syria is free.

The number of dead in the alcohol poisoning disaster in Tripoli has risen to 82 today, Thursday, according to Colonel Mahmoud Sharif, the head of National Security in Tripoli. The latest death toll included another woman he said. He put the total number of poison victims at around 900.

Eighteen more were taken to Tripoli Medical Centre and eight to Tripoli Central Hospital according to the National Security directorate’s daily bulletin.

The reason for confusion about the number of cases in the past couple of days, Sharif told the Libya Herald today, was that some victims were transferred from one hospital to another and ended up being registered more than once.

My basic disagreement with you is that you discount the 11 years that Assad was in power and his policies that led to the current situation. Assad created a impoverished and humiliated population that was ripe for unrest. This unrest was used by outside forces that Assad alienated over his 11 years of rule and during the initial stages of the revolution. Assad has 90% of the blame for the current situation.

As for an arms embargo on both sides, that is an unrealistic proposition as the Iranians are not going to stop giving weapons to the regime. What other options would you support that have a chance of being implemented?

BEIRUT (AP) — A high-ranking general in the Syrian army defected on Saturday with the help of rebels and said morale is low among those still fighting for President Bashar Assad as the civil war enters its third year.

Maj. Gen. Mohammed Ezz al-Din Khalouf told Al-Arabiya TV that many of those still with Assad’s regime have lost faith in it.

“It not an issue of belief or practicing one’s role,” he said. “It’s for appearance’s sake, to present an image to the international community from the regime that it pulls together all parts of Syrian society under this regime.”
…

After reading your comments it helps a lot to understand why the people of Syria is ready to kill these bastards in power and anything related to them. You are not humans, you are bastards and mongols. You are the ones who deserve getting killed soon, not Hama inhabitants.

If you were not a rat hiding in the cyber space you would give your adress and someone would be pleased to give you what you deserve.

WASHINGTON — The CIA has stepped up secret contingency planning to protect the United States and its allies as the turmoil expands in Syria, including collecting intelligence on Islamic extremists for the first time for possible lethal drone strikes, according to current and former U.S. officials.
President Obama has not authorized drone missile strikes in Syria, however, and none are under consideration.
The Counterterrorism Center, which runs the CIA’s covert drone killing program in Pakistan and Yemen, recently shifted several targeting officers to improve intelligence collection on militants in Syria who could pose a terrorist threat, the officials said.
The targeting officers have formed a unit with colleagues who were tracking Al Qaeda operatives and fighters in Iraq. U.S. officials believe that some of these operatives have moved to Syria and joined Islamic militias battling to overthrow President Bashar Assad.(LA Times)

Sandro when one has cancer it is either the cancer or the person that must die. The rats that rose up in Hama in 1982 deserved a slow death. Hafez was generous to wipe them out so fast. Bashar will finish the job on the insects who escaped justice. Like father, like son…

If you’re willing to tell us where you are I can have someone pick you up for a chat about all this. Let’s not make threats unless you have the confidence to give out your location. Anyone can talk like a big bad Wahabi swine online. Show me the money, as they say.

Where’s the beef?

PS – my dear Tara always check the SOURCE of reports of defections. The one for this fellow is none other than the Saudi apes.

AIG:
“My basic disagreement with you is that you discount the 11 years that Assad was in power and his policies that led to the current situation”
everybody who read my posts knows my position on Bashar when he was appointed president, or king, in 2000, he is today as useful to the rebels as he is to his supporters, what is best for Syria is that he disappears and let others lead a new government.
As for an arms embargo, this can be done as part of a political agreement, those who are opposed to that,like the islamists and the GCC, do not want to see an end to this war unless their guys win militarily, that is where Russia and Iran draw the line.

Since Israel is virtual according to the regime idiots it means that no one controls the Golan heights and still they have a problem to take it. They cannot even beat a non existing enemy! What could be more pathetic? (Except of course people that run away from Syria and criticize others that do or people that curse the Gulf Arabs for arming the rebellion while living in the Gulf countries)

Your response is based on the assumption that Iran is prepared to stop arming the Assad regime and all other forces in Syria as part of an agreement. Where have they ever indicated that this is the case? I may have missed this.

But apart from that, if the GCC and Islamists are not prepared to dialogue about an arms embargo, that just strengthens my point that this is not a realistic solution. What is an alternative then?

Moments of Glory, thanks Hafes Alassad for putting us up high there with the stars

You terrorist Zionist rats are fighting for some pasta with pork while real leaders made the new Syria.

Don’t deny feel the chill across your body when seeing our forever president Hafez addressing the traitor Fares. Man i wish i can remember these days but no problem soon enough after eradicating the Zionists will rebuild our advanced Syria agaian.

That is a beautiful video. Some of my favorite YouTube videos are the ones showing Israeli baby killers running and screaming as missiles provided by Syria and Iran rain down on Israel in 2006. I love seeing the weeping and cowering in fear.

It is really easy for the weak and cowardly IDF to shoot unarmed women and children but they were not able to do the same to the valiant Hezbollah fighters.

Hafez Alassad addressing the nation after cleansing the muslim brotherhood criminals in Hama. He states clearly that those criminals are hiding behind Islam and they don’t relate to Islam, they cooperate with foreign powers to kill their own people and those criminals have one way to go DEATH!!!

If the IDF is weak and cowardly, then how do you explain the fact that the Assads did not dare attack Israel and that they gave up the Golan? How do you explain the fact Assad did not dare fire back at Israeli planes?

There are some problems reconciling your fantasies with realities. But then, people who live in fantasy worlds usually end up with bitter disappointments and humiliations.

When the chemicals propaganda starts to weaken, here comes the Scuds, and when this also weaken, come the cluster bombs. When this weaken and there are “massacres” to report or something new, then we start all over again with the chemicals.

The other technique is the use ‘ may’, ‘if’, ‘eventual’, ‘possible’ lost somewhere in the main text of the article, while the headline claims the affirmation.
It is known that 90% of readers only read the headlines.

No Arab country have signed the convention banning clusters bombs (except for Tunisia, Lebanon and Mauritania)
Turkey, Israel, USA, China, Pakistan, Indonesia, India, Russia, Brazil etc… have not signed the convention either.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the EU needed to think “very carefully” about French and British arguments that lifting the embargo would encourage Assad to negotiate.

The EU should also consult UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi and Moaz Al-Khatib, head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, about what impact lifting the embargo might have on their efforts to start talks to end the Syria crisis, she said.
“What we’ve got to make sure of is anything we do does not make that (work) harder,” she said, speaking at a conference.

Samir Nashar, a member of the Syrian National Coalition, the main opposition group in exile, said he hoped France and Britain would defy the EU if the embargo remains in place.

“I prefer that there is a consensus and a joint resolution,” he said Friday in Istanbul. “But if there’s no consensus, I still think France and Britain will act unilaterally.”

Man I’m fired up tonight, it feels like the eve of October 1973
the victory is very soon and Zionists will be gone for good.

I’ve been playing these songs really loud the whole day, actually i shared the job with my Sunni Syrian neighbors by pointing the speakers towards their garden from my room, and the old man looked at me and gave me a big grin. it makes me happy when i see Sunni support

Isn’t it sad that the douche bag Ali is energetic enough to play songs but not really able to do anything constructive except run away from Syria to lick the boots of the Gulf Arabs that fund the rebellion?

I really pity anyone with half a brain that had to endure these dimwits spouting their slogans for decades in Syria. What intellectual devastation.

Syria is a secular nation and our army is cleaning rats as we speak. Our brave soldiers are grinding the rat’s livers to dust. They are shooting them whenever they stick their ape-like rodent heads out of the sewers. Our air force is blowing them to pieces whenever they see them. Our Scuds are bringing purifying fire to the rodents.

Even jewish love Hafez and Bashar. Everybody loves them very much. Even in France, Germany or Italy, everybody loves Bashar very much. Also in Sudan and Taiwan. Bashar should be proposed to Chairman of the United Nations. He is the model to be followed to the anihilation of Human Kind.

Do not hide, show your identity if you are living inside Syria. Do not be afraid, everything is under Assad control in Syria and nothing will happen to you. Why be afraid?

….or probably you are in Frankfort, Wien or Paris and have no relation with Syria. This is most probable. Then hide because if you defend crimes against humanity on the syrian population then someone will probably be allowed to suit against you and then you will pay a high price.

Show your identity and do not try to put your idiot Assad (who was brought to power by a hidden mafia of power) at the same level that Obama or any other democratically elected leader in the world.

Your Bashar is garbage, pure political excrement with no past and no future. Nothing in terms of future expectations. Finished. Burnt. Vaporized. People of Syria will kill him and will follow main pillars of the mafia corrupt decaying regime to death.

Do you remember the massive demonstrations that took place in Syria, 2 years ago? What happened to that people? Why do they leave? Isn´t it true that more than 500.000 people rallied in Hama? Why are they gone? Who shooted at them, tortured, killed, bombed…..

Some reports by opposition activists claim that Al Jazeera reporter Ghada Oweis embedded with terrorists from Al Nusra Front (Al Qaeda FSA) was raped by her own colleagues, members of the US listed terrorist group.

We couldn’t confirm the report from any independent source, however the sources reporting this on social media sites are confirming the news and some went as far as saying the reporter is in a total shock and her news channel, known to have close ties with radical terrorists, is trying to prevent the reporter from affirming the news by ways of pressure and seduction with a huge amount of money to maintain the good image of the terrorists fighting the Syrian people and their state.

We do hope the news is not true, even if this specific news channel have contributed a lot in the disinformation and fabrication of news against Syria causing much of the deaths, chaos and destruction in the country.

—
– The above information were posted by real Syrian activists from Syria & around the world, not by western intelligent post offices duped activists.

Syria’s first lady Asmaa Assad participated today in the ‘Mother Gathers’ activity in Opera House in Damascus bringing her children, their cousins the children of Brigadier Maher Assad, and the children of Bushra Assad, president Bashar’s sister and widow of martyr general Assif Shawkat, all of which oppositions Vuvuzellas (NATO’s mainstream media) synchronously parroted they’ve ‘defected’ from president Assad, to show a strife within president Assad’s own family.

The gathering was an effort to honor the mothers of the Syrian martyrs whose sons fell defending their land and their families from the herds of Wahhabi Sex Jihadists imported by Turkey and sent by Saudi Arabia & Qatar to ‘democratize’ Syria.

The gathering starting today 16 March 2013 and include a charitable bazaar for handicraft, an art exhibition for the martyrs children among other activities to raise funds for the ‘Martyr Mother’ charitable fund. 10 martyrs’ mothers were selected on the first day whom each received 10 honorary birth certificates of 10 young male and female volunteers with the volunteers pictures, full information about them and their contact numbers in case the mother would need any help to consider them as her own children.

Syrian based media had a large coverage of the event but of course European and Arab League officials wanting to promote free speech for Syrians have banned Syrian based media off satellite air and off the internet, leaving Syrians with social media as an alternative to keep in touch with events in their own country..!

“Even jewish love Hafez and Bashar. Everybody loves them very much. Even in France, Germany or Italy, everybody loves Bashar very much. Also in Sudan and Taiwan. Bashar should be proposed to Chairman of the United Nations. He is the model to be followed to the anihilation of Human Kind”

Enough said.

I knew my shocking therapy method would help people to come back to their conscious

I am nearly crying, my tears do not let me write… after reading ASMA AL ASSAD, MOTHERS GATHERS, OPERA HOUSE, MARTYRS SONS, CHARITABLE BAZAAR, it sound so charming and civilized. It is a pitty that all this performance has been acurately picked up from western modes.

It would be nice that next charitable Asma Al Assad foundation will be for the sons of freedom activists´sons whose fathers died in prison under tortures. Including a Bbq for the handicapped sons and sisters of all those familes bombed by Assad pigs.

In your religion you respect the dead but kill the alive. So you kill people in order to respect them. Very intelligent from your side.

In my religion we have no respect for the memory of a criminal who have inflicted too much suffering in human beings, dealing with them lik an animal until the last day of his life. So please send me a pizza with the slized head of Assef Shawkat on it. I will throw it to the pigs in the farm.

Russia has responded to Britain and France’s decision to arm the so-called Syrian opposition, by declaring that the Russian Fleet stationed off the Syrian Coast will search all vessels heading to the eastern Mediterranean, and will confiscate all arms shipments …

I would not respond to the distracting posts on this blog. All of the comments posted more retarded than ever are meant to deflect from the reality on the ground.

21 officers defected.

It appears that Buthaina is in South Africa and that the Prethident has asked for the BRICS to help solve the crisis in Syria.

How are they going to do it? Please let us know:
1. South Africa is going to send gold?
2. India is going to send nuclear technology?
3. Brazil is going to send mahogany?
4. We know Russia will send weapons and advisers so this is not new all stamped with a triple veto
5. What about China? It is sending more than vetoes? Are they going to give money to the regime?

I just reviewed the news: huge weapons caches have fallen into the hands of the rebels. There is belligerent talk against Lebanon and against Jordan.
Militias are being trained for after the collapse.

What is the strategy of the regime? What is victory just staying in power in a palace surrounded by ruins? Where is the SAA? 50 000 left to defend the brutality of the regime. More Alawi defections now. I just finished reading Manar and Mayaddeen. Great news as Syria has vanished from the reporting.

Ali, I see your support for Assad is unlike Zoo and Revenire.. Do you think Assad is superior to most Syrians. Does this admiration stem from cult like adoration? Or do you support him because you think he is better than any other alternatives?

Aleppo activist Edward Dark: ‘People here don’t like the regime, but they hate the rebels even more’

When you got back online, you presented a very different view of the state of the uprising. What changed?

I, and many other residents of Aleppo saw firsthand how the armed rebels were acting on the ground, and the various crimes and looting they were committing with impunity. Another reason is that there are foreign jihadi fighters with extremist ideologies here. This wasn’t what we revolted for, to replace one group of criminals with another.

Deir al Zor could be the next city that will fall to the rebels, if and when this happen,Iraq support to Assad will become useless,and Assad will be more isolated.Maliki should know the consequences, Shummar tribe will be heavily armed,and will be free to move across the un accepted borders,

If you don’t think that the above comment, “133. ALI” is both sexist and disrespectful, then you should stop moderating any comment. This anti-Sunni regime sectarian propagandist, “Ali,” is basically suggesting that female commentators on this blog should go and have sex with anti-Bashar fighters in Syria. Is this filth against women acceptable on this blog? Does this regime propagandist think that the women on this blog should be treated similar to the way that Bashar and his shabiha treat Syrian women? Ali’s comment is consistent with the regime’s policy of using rape as tool in its attempt to perpetuate al-Assad’s bloody/hated dictatorship?

Please moderator do something and remove “133. ALI” comment for his racist and sexist language.

The real terrorists are Bahar, his shabiha, and the propagandists like you and Ali who propagate on behalf on the worst murderous dictatorship in modern Arab history, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME advocating-as Ali does in his above comment-raping peaceful SC female commentators. Shame on you propagandist terrorists. You must be Hizballah or Basij terrorists, and-if you live here in the United States-I hope that somebody from the FBI is watching you!

ON NYT, “Protests across Syria to observe the uprising’s two-year anniversary were small and muted compared with the exuberant demonstrations that initially set off the revolt, underscoring the growing sense that the war is nowhere near an end”

Why not just tell the truth that this bloody revolution no longer has broad support from Syrians?

Also on NYT, “Assad Issues a Worldwide Plea as a Top Syrian General Defects”

The fact check: The so-called top Syrian general was the army’s chief of supplies and logistics. I bet he now has a fat checking account sitting somewhere in Europe. Bouthaina Shaaban attends meeting with BRIC countries. All BRIC are firm believers that only political solution and genuine dialogues can solve Syrian conflict. By NYT’s logic, we could rephrase the news like this: Worldwide demand for end of violence and urge dialogue without preconditions in Syria.

Indian foreign minister expresses it well, when the western countries and media condemn violence from the regime and push for more weapons to the rebels, they stress it is from international community. But India is big and important enough to be part of international community, yet India does not share the same policy with the West on Syria. Indian position got hijacked by the West by their blanket statement in order to serve their propaganda agenda.

The so-called critical and independent news media now is morally bankrupt. Iraqi war and finance meltdown in 2008 have made wake-up calls for intellectuals in US to watch the decay of true democracy and national values. How the MSM plays its role in Libya and currently in Syria conflict is truly mind-boggling and stinking.

Given your racist and sexist comment about female SC commentators, I suggest that you, Ali, undergo a sex or gender change operation that would make you a trans-gendered female. After your sex-change surgery, I suggest that you mr. Ali (you would become Ms. Alia) travel to Syria and there you can offer yourself for “pleasure marriage” or زواج المتعه to please the shia shabiha in Syria (the Shabiha from Hizballah, al-Maliki’s/al-Sadr’s Iraq, and Iran). The wilayat al-faqih clerics will bless you for invaluable contribution to the pro-dictator shabiha. You will also increase the income of shia clerics because shabiha males will pay a lot of money to obtain al-Mot’ah marriage licenses from the shia clerics!

I visit Tehran at least three times a year for training. When not there I divide my time between Tartus (really quiet, no fighting and the Scuds never land there 🙂 ) and a Hezbollah bunker near the border of the Zionist entity.

Those revolutionists had romanticized the whole revolt with noble terms and fantasy. In reality, those dreamers watched foreign Jihadists made one after another gains on battle ground. And poor, uneducated, ignorant, pious and conservative Syrians from countryside flocked the ranks of rebels. While one after another cities and towns got destroyed after rebels brought their fight inside. Yet, those idealists keep telling themselves and convincing others the victory is worth this whole destruction in order for a new order to be born.

Meanwhile, the rebels breed more ferociously on battle field and form more bloodthirsty packs.

Rape of innocent is not from foreign invasion. It happens within gradually. If the rebels get hold of this country, prepare for even more barbaric reality than Afghanistan under Taliban because Syrian will suffer more sectarian violence.

I doubt any of those rebel cheerleaders here will be able to find a position after that, except those hardcore haters and Islamists.

The regime’s doesn’t have a strategy. They’re just trying to delay the inevitable and hold on for as long as they can.

More defections continue. Including some pretty major ones recently. Soldiers are voting with their feet.

As I’ve said before: the regime’s ranks shrink. Its enemies’ ranks grow.

EDIT: You can whine all you want Apple-Mini, but the truth is that a corrupt, evil regime that treats the poor like dirt is only getting what it deserves. And while many of the rebels are morally flawed (who isn’t?), at least they’re better than the regime.

And, if the recent video statement on ”a glorious battle of conquest” from the ”Joint Command of the Super Power Islamic Hawks Battalion of the Free Syrian Army (Idleb Wing)” seems a little over the top, you could just stick to reality. Better write: ”According to photographic evidence seen by this reporter, it seems like ten guys from a tiny village outside Idleb have recently been lobbing mortar shells at a blurry target in the distance while shouting ’Allahu Akbar’.”

Assad can plea all he wants. But no one’s going to listen to him. The regime wanted war, so war it will be. What comes around goes around. Furthermore, all of the BRIC countries know what he’s done to the country even if they won’t say it. They aren’t going to oppose the West for the sake of this corrupt regime.

As I’ve said before, the regime’s politically dead. No one’s interested in talking to it.

“Ali, I see your support for Assad is unlike Zoo and Revenire .. …. other alternatives?”

You do sound a decent person so I will answer you

1- Do you think Assad is superior to most Syrians?
Yes Hafez Alassad, not only to Syrian but to all human race including other prophets

2- Does this admiration stem from cult like adoration?
Yes he’s the creator of Alawis glory and with Hafez we were nothing

3- do you support him because you think he is better than any other alternatives?
If you’re talking about Bashar, then we only support him because he’s an Alawiand Hafez’s son. We would have prefered Basel or Maher but it’s ok he’s doing fine these days

Before the end of 2013 Bashar will be hiding in the Alawi mountains. The newly-formed free Syria government will launch a successful campaign to conquer the Alawiistan and re-unite Syria. Bashar will flee to Hasan Nasrillat’s bunker, which will require a Syrian invasion of Lebanon to arrest both Bashar and Hasan!

Read my above comment because you are clearly an excellent volunteer for زواج المتعه. You can offer yourself for the Shia shabiha who are participating in Bashar al-Assad’s war crime. The female commentators here on “Syria Comment” are more decent and chaste than a male (soon to be female after sex change operation) like you who prostitutes his sick mind to defend a bloody minority dictatorship. Shame on you!

You have such a nice name so don’t disgrace it with your polluted thoughts.

Assad will not fall because Hafez is spreading his wings over Alawis to protect them and as I said once we did not come down the mountains to come back to them. We own Damascus,Aleppo, Hama and every city in Syria and we own you as anyone else in Syria

“This is how you respect women. Is this typical of your religion too? Is this the way you deal with women in your family…”

I’ll be very honest here, generally women in my theology are needed creatures for sure, they look after kids, farm, cock, and do a lot of other thing but at the end of the day and in reality they are less than men (like in Islam), women are not eligible to carry the secret or the religion and continuously need to be purified.

But in the current days Hafez elevated women and gave them lots of rights which we accept, now they can participate in the police, army and secret service, even lately a popular army of women been established in Homs.

“The female commentators here on “Syria Comment” are more decent and chaste ”

What’s wrong with your dude,why are you jealous? Oh nooo don’t tell me you having a crush on one of the girls here ohhhh how cute. SC is now a dating website, good on you Dawoud try to find a virgin chaste wife on this forum hahahaha

I just wish the days on blue beach (الشاطئ الازرق) come back soon to show you how easy to get tasty Sunni women right under their mens nose hahaha and nobody could open his mouth. I always preferred ladies from Hama and Aleppo because I’m from Damascus and always wanted to change the flavor and accent.

Those regime cheerleaders with the biggest history of slurs here live all abroad. Its an esay task for them to praise Al Assad since they dont live under his rule. At the end they just want their quiet summer vacations back.

Here is a draft for the Al Wahash lovers, Syriatimes list of 15 reasons why the eyedoc must stay in power:

” 1.He is being targeted by America and the West. The access of evil does not want a president that maintains the sovereignty and independence of his country away from interfering in its internal affairs and its strategic and foreign policy.”

Going into the third year of the conflict it is not the regime versus all the Syrian people. If it was, President Assad would most likely be dead or retired by now.

Both sides have their core supporters. In between the rebels and the regime, though, is a big middle ground of frightened Syrians who don’t like the regime, but worry what the rebels, especially the jihadists, have in store for them.

The documentation accompanying several women in Syria and they tell about their lives. There is for example, Asmaa ‘Kaftaro, granddaughter of the former Mufti of Syria. “When I was married at 16, I did not know what marriage means,” she says. What are the implications for sexuality and the body feeling of such women? How do they see their role as wife and mother and what they will pass on to their own children.

The 48-year-old Christian Lina Chachati comes from a known, liberal family that owns one of the largest bookstores in Syria. She attaches great importance to an attractive appearance, which is in stark contrast to her own body feeling: “I know my body is still not very good.”

The documentary gives an insight into a very personal reflections and displays, coupled with the personal thoughts and feelings of the filmmaker, what it means to live as a woman in Syria.

What I would really like to see is credible estimates of the following:

How many percentage-wise of the total rebel forces fighting on the ground can accuately be described as –
1. Foreign fighters come to Syria for jihad?
2. Sunni vs. other ethno-religous groups (if any)?
3. Islamist (as in wanting a Sunni Islamic-based state/caliphate)
vs. ‘secular, democratic, and freedom-lovin” (if any)?

“The most important recruiting tool for this nascent insurgency was not the FSA and its trickle of videotaped communiqués on YouTube. Rather, it was Bashar el-Assad’s decision to send his army on a psychotic rampage through the Syrian Sunni Arab countryside.”

Sad fact is, this is at least partly, probably mostly, and maybe totally, a work of fiction. Houla massacre? Rebel black ops following a rebel defeat of security forces. The video evidence confirming the non-rebel witnesses all but prove this. Mazaat al-Qubeir, Treimseh, Daraya, Harak, Aqrab, Haswiyeh, Aleppo University, Queiq River, etc. Over and over again, strong indications of rebel authorship emerge when you really stop and look at the evidence. The rebels created their own conditions for the spread of a vengeful, uncontrollable cancer. Since it seems deep national injury is the goal of the West and the Gulf in Syria, this model is working quite well without any “leash.”

Bravo Mr. Putin! It’s a great step and there is a need for further steps

The Russian government is drawing a line (in the water) on the issue of Syria

Three Russian warships headed for Syrian порт
Hundreds of soldiers aboard, yet no information so far regarding the intent of their journey

Three Russian warships anchored in Beirut en route to the port of Tartus in Syria, Sky News reported Friday.

According to the report, the ships carry hundreds of Russian soldiers as well as advanced missile systems.

Moscow has operated the naval facility at Tartus since signing an agreement with Damascus in 1971. Although it is merely a ship repair and refueling station with a limited military presence, it is the sole remaining Russian military base outside of the former Soviet Union.

In January, a flotilla of five Russian warships laden with hundreds of troops, headed toward Syria, as a show of force meant to deter Western armies from intervening in the war-torn nation, the London-based Sunday Times reported.

Previous reports cited Russian diplomats to the effect that the vessels were being put in place in order to evacuate thousands of Russians who still remained in Syria, if the situation in the country called for it.

However, a Russian intelligence source was quoted in the London Times as saying that the presence of over 300 marines on the ships was meant as a deterrent to keep countries hostile to the Bashar Assad regime — a key ally of the Kremlin — from landing special forces in the country.

BRIC is not a union, it’s just an abbreviation for countries. Russia is the economically weakest of the 4 Brics, and should be kicked out.

Two bric are dictatorships, and 2 aren’t. Brazil observes LGBT rights, Russia doesn’t. Bric is not an alliance.

The game is actually this: Chinese and Russian mafia are trying to postpone their own fall by propping up other dictatorships in the world.
They use propaganda to get naive people to support them. They present themselves (Moscow, Beijing) as saviors. Millions fall for it.

(copy/paste of a comment posted by someone else on another site – I thought it would be good to have it here)

There are of course insurgent alliances that actually do exist. For example, we’ve recently seen the creation of the Syrian Islamic Front (homegrown Syrian salafis, who don’t take Western money, and don’t call themselves FSA), and there’s the Syrian Liberation Front (a loose collection of Western/Gulf-funded salafis and more moderate Islamists. Before creating the SLF, these groups used to call themselves FSA, and they still tend to be lumped in with the FSA by many news reporters), the Shields of the Revolution (Muslim Brotherhood affiliates, who themselves occasionally use the FSA term), or the locally based Ansar el-Islam Gathering (an Islamist coalition in Damascus, members of which used to call themselves FSA, but don’t anymore).

But these groups have so far received near-zero coverage in the Western media. All we ever hear about is the FSA and Jabhat al-Nosra, as if these two organizations represented two rival wings of the insurgency. Since only one of them actually exists, it would be one wing at best, and that doesn’t fly.

As a military man I can only say that for an army that doesn’t exist they are doing a great job. Defeating one of the strongest army in the middle east. Also wondering who those guys are talking in their satellite phones. And who they are talking too. Maybe their Mum. Telling they are late for dinner.

Sandro
If this war takes several months,there will be thousands of HA ,lebanese will die in Syria,HA can not afford this in the long range,this will backfire against Nasrallah,as this participation by HA will not achieve its goal,lebanese shiite will resent losing their sons ,just like Alawis are resenting now as they see their sons are coming home in bags

Please do not respond to distracting troll posts as they are meant to provoke with statements that the soul is going to be incarnated and Vito Corleone spreading his wings over Thouria and we own Hama and Damascus and all of the garbage.

Here is an admission from the horse’s mouth that there is NO SUCH THING AS THE SAA.

Al Watan has just asked the citizens of Raqqa to do their duty to get rid of “terrorists” and if they need help the army is there to lend assistance

The newspaper is also warning that 15000 are waiting to cross from Lebanon to join the revolution and that ” the fire or terror” will consume Lebanon and Jordan.

It seems it is a veiled threat that “terror” events are about to happen in Jordan and Lebanon.

I guess they need a new Samaha to transport explosives this time, unless HA of course obliges them.

The retard boy is asking the BRICS to “intervene” in the Syria crisis for a solution.

The stupid retard had the solution since 2001 when he assumed power: freedom. Give people persistent and ever increasing freedom, give them a free press, give them a clean judiciary and you would have allowed for an explosion of the huge potential of this country for great prosperity.

Here is the proof that the SAA no longer exists and is a shadow of itself
This is from the prime ministerial meeting today on Cham Press
For those that do not read Arabic it says that the prime minister asks the people to take matters into their own hands to restore order and if need be the armed forces are there to lend a hand

Aron Lund! continue your starting Q pls!Be honest in the answers!
Is the FSA Syrian?
has FSA national Agenda ?
How many forigners in its composition: the military-operational,secret Services , planning, financial and procurement ?
The true date of its creation plan? What its main programe ? and what its vision to recreate the new Syria?

In the meantime I just finished listening and watching the BBC and the pro regime commentators said categorically that there are no HA fighter in Syria yet we have one being mourned in Maissa Aljabl by the name of Shartouni killed doing his”duty”

He also admitted that the Lebanese living in the Syrian villages have set up committees to defend themselves against “armed elements” attacking them.

So where is the SAA to defend the Syrian villages whether inhabited by Lebanese or Mau Mau to protect them against armed elements? Once again the SAA does not exist, it is a murderous militia that needs to be dismantled and its officers made to eat slowly and surely their epaulettes as they are using 20 000 ballistic missiles and 500 airplanes and millions of artillery shells on the people.

Hello; any thryian army recruits here to go and join the non exithtent Thyrian Arab Army.

BRICS TO THE RESCUE pleassssssssssssssssssse tickle me today.

Brazilian Samba dancers are on their way to Homs to help liberate it from “armed terrorists” they plan to dance the samba, make them sway and drop their weapons and then the glorious SAA will come down swooping in helicopters and kill them all to the music of Samba Si Trabacho No

Laughvrov please make a Samba statement today about International Law and UN charter pleassssssssssssssssssse

OBSREVER you wanna know how well-trained our men are ? You will never know what hit you. SAA soldiers are trained to do the unthinkable and ASSAD is a GENIUS bcoz you gotta be a GENIUS to make men do the unthinkable.

To the Non-Syrians like Juergen and Annie : The General Intelligence Directorate’s people may take an unhealthy interest in you if you continue to take an interest in Syria.

World View: British efforts to arm ‘moderate’ rebels reveal a lack of understanding of this complex civil war

We are going to do it again. The British effort to get the EU arms embargo amended so it can supply weapons to the Syrian insurgents is justified by self-serving falsifications about the situation on the ground similar to those used to garner support for the invasion of Iraq 10 years ago. In Iraq and Syria, propaganda masked the fact that Britain was intervening in a country where civil war was brewing or had already broken out.

HAFEZ AL ASSAD was a true genius, he must have been, no other man in history has been able to build and assemble so solid a regime. HAFEZ is right up there with Einstein. Not even Stalin, Mao, Nasser, Honecker, Saddam, Al Saud can match Our Leader’s genius, bcomz after the deaths of all these leaders, their methods and legacy was discarded from official policy, whereas HAFEZ lives on.

Syrian opposition to choose rebel prime minister
Economist Osama Kadi and former agriculture minister Asaad Mustapha are the most prominent candidates for holding the PM post in Syria’s main opposition body

AFP , Sunday 17 Mar 2013

A former agriculture minister and an economist are leading candidates to be named Syria’s first rebel prime minister when the opposition Syrian National Coalition meets to vote in Turkey this week.

The two men are among around 10 opposition figures Coalition members are expected to consider during their gathering in Istanbul on March 18 and 19.
…
Opposition members said they wanted a good administrator with long-standing ties to the uprising, although nations backing the rebels, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia, are also likely to influence the choice.
…
“The prime minister must be a man who is completely with the revolution, and it is better that it be someone who was in Syria until recently, not someone who has lived abroad for a long time,” opposition figure Haytham al-Maleh said.

Kadi, born in Aleppo in 1968, is founder of the Syrian Centre for Political and Strategic Studies in Washington and favoured for his technocratic background.

Mustapha, born in Idlib in 1947, brings experience as a minister under Syria’s former president Hafez al-Assad for eight years.
…
At least one potential candidate, Christian dissident Michel Kilo, has already made clear he will not be standing, and neither former Syrian National Council head Burhan Ghalioun nor defected ex-premier Riad Hijab appear on the current list.
…
The decision to name a prime minister and form an interim government is opposed by some opposition figures, who favour the creation of an executive body with limited powers to administer rebel-held territory.

Council members speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity said those opposed to creating an interim government want dialogue with the regime and the formation of a government composed of regime and opposition members.

That is believed to be Washington’s preference, although Turkey and much of the Arab League favour an interim government.

Juergen always with the rat propaganda as if the terrorists were making films for Cannes. He goes “see how nice they are before they rape your daughter – they’re making movies” but we know better Herr Juergen.

Juergen punctuates this trash with MUST SEE or IMPORTANT READ.

Juergen posted a silly video showing a newspaper a few gun-toting terrorists had put together. As it turned out the “newspaper” had a circulation of 250-300 and Juergen’s post was filthy terrorist propaganda. Juergen reminds me of Mao’s Red Guards in a way. I am sure Hillary Clinton or Netanyahu sends Juergen a few silver coins each month.

Juergen always posts Kafranbel like it is a fabled place – the conscience of the revolution – when all it is is a backwater town of rats who make signs in bad English. If clowns like Juergen didn’t repost the trash from Twitter no one would ever know the place existed. I am in favor of Assad sending a hundred Scuds to Kafranbel today. Let’s really make them martyrs.

Juergen I understand Air Force Intelligence has many contacts in the former Stasi and the Gladio (“stay behind”) networks. I’d be very careful or you might find yourself a victim of rendition to a prison in ‘liberated’ Raqqa.

I was happy to see the Germans didn’t lick Cameron and his French poodle’s shoes and said “we don’t want to send arms to Al-Qaeda just yet.” No doubt Putin reminded them it is only a few moments – as the ICBM flies – from Moskva to Berlin.

“I’ll be very honest here, generally women in my theology are needed creatures for sure, they look after kids, farm, cock, and do a lot of other thing but at the end of the day and in reality they are less than men (like in Islam), women are not eligible to carry the secret or the religion and continuously need to be purified.”

Hehe. So what we were told was right. Women in Alawism are considered to be objects. Where is Mjabali to beat Ali up for revealing an inside secret?

Any Australian Nusra Front supporters will be very nervous and are on notice that the government knows who you are and will be making arrests shortly. They should conduct a raid on this forum. They could make nearly a dozen arrests. I bet some of the more rabid posters here are involved in gun smuggling.

“The listing means anyone in Australia who makes funds or assets available to the group could face up to 10 years in jail.”

I’d love to see a few rats expressing their love of suicide bombings from a prison cell. 10 years seems rather easy but I hear those 10 years are 10 long years.

The risks that UK-supplied weapons could fall into the hands of jihadists in Syria may well be outweighed by the gamble of not doing more to end the crisis, William Hague said.

No decision had been taken to arm the opposition to Bashar Assad’s regime, the Foreign Secretary said amid British and French pressure for a European Union arms embargo to be lifted.

Any shipments of weapons would have to be “very carefully controlled” but there were “even greater risks” posed by continued violence, he said.
..
Hague added: “I stress we have taken no decision at the moment to send arms to anybody in Syria or what we will do at the end of May when the current sanctions regime comes to an end.

“But we are clear, with France, that we need to keep doing more, that this situation is deteriorating rapidly.
..
“Without a diplomatic and political breakthrough – though we are working on that all the time – we will have to do more to try to change the calculations of the Assad regime.”

“Ali, I see your support for Assad is unlike Zoo and Revenire .. …. other alternatives?”

You do sound a decent person so I will answer you

1- Do you think Assad is superior to most Syrians?
Yes Hafez Alassad, not only to Syrian but to all human race including other prophets”

Do all your friends and family believe that way? Even younger generations?

My impression from Alawite friends is that they do not have the same point of view at all. They support Assad(s) only because they believe they have given them power and are better than a Saudi-type alternative… Not due to cult-like admiration like you seem to be talking about. The cultist image is used mainly for propaganda purposes.(Think Kim Jong Il)

Saudi Arabia’s farcical justice system condemned seven young men to death this week, and the world remained silent.
BY ALI ALAHMED | MARCH 15, 2013

As I wrote this article on the night of March 12 in Washington, seven young men — all in their early twenties — were still alive and praying to God for some last-minute grace to save them from facing a firing squad outside the palatial offices of the governor of Saudi Arabia’s Aseer province, Faisal Ben Khalid, who ordered their execution.
Their prayers fell on deaf ears in the kingdom. The men, who were convicted of armed robbery, were executed on March 13, in a move denounced by Amnesty International as an “act of sheer brutality.”

Hundreds of people are executed in Saudi Arabia every year — because some executions are carried out in secret, no one knows the real numbers. In 2007, the newspaper Arab News reported that 400 people remained on death row in the province of Makka alone. There are 12 other regions in the kingdom, so the total number of people awaiting execution could easily reach several thousand.

The Saudi government runs one of the most backward and xenophobic judicial systems on the planet. There is no formal legal code. Judges must all espouse the government-approved Salafi version of Islam. Blacks, who make up around 10 percent of the population, are banned from judgeships — as are women and Muslims who observe a different version of the faith — because the monarchy’s religious tradition still views blacks as slaves, other Muslims as heretics, and women as half human. There is only one word to describe such a system: apartheid.

Once again Jahannam was questioned today about the extent of its capacity (يوم نقول لجهنم هل امتلئت). As usual, Jahannam replied by indicating that it has an unlimited capacity to accomodate criminal thugs (وتقول هل من مزيد).

Our holy warriors, spearheaded by the holy fighters of Nusra and A7hrar, stormed today Division 17 which is the last remaining vestige of thuggocracy in the Raqqa province sending scores of thugs, criminals, rodents, undesirables, rejects and other abominations into the lowest depth of the infinitely vast Jahannam joining along the way the wretched rodents of the mullah agents of Hezbostan recently eliminated in the Qusair and Dara’a battles by the same holy victorious warriors,

I feel honored that both of you fear for my safety here. See I would not mind that the Syrian security apparatus finds in me an adequate aim, that shows perfectly how shallow and narrowminded such regimes work. If my aim makes them less stringent on others, I would not mind. Btw, I think anyone who visited Syria on a 3-4 month basis was a target for them.

[…] Aron Lund writes: Is the FSA losing influence in Syria? How many people are in the FSA? Is the FSA receiving enough guns from the West, or too many? Will the FSA participate in elections after the fall of Bahar el-Assad? What is the ideology of the FSA? What’s the FSA’s view of Israel? Is Jabhat el-Nosra now bigger than the FSA? What does the FSA think about the Kurds? Who is the leader of the FSA? How much control does the central command of the FSA really have over their fighters? […]

* وليد الزعبي: ولد بدرعا عام 1964. حاصل على البكالوريوس في الهندسة المدنية من جامعة دمشق عام 1986، وهو رجل أعمال، ويصف نفسه بالليبرالي الوطني.
I do not support the formation of a shadow government , I think it is better that the opposition comes up with a transitional team that negotiates with acceptable figures from the regime on how to divide power and prepare for national elections. Without international guarantees and a peace force on the ground this war will not stop any time soon, the winners of this situation are the same ones who refuse a peaceful settlement, they have too much to lose if Syrians form a national unity and reconciliation government.
Qadhafi had no support from the anti NATO camp , this is not the case in Syria, losing Syria to the GCC and NATO will end any hope for peace and stability in the middle east and beyond.

You remind me of the Israeli press during the IDF invasion of south lebanon in 2006. You are using the exact same language as an IDF spokesperson.

The fact that you can’t comprehend that it’s Assad’s army who has attacked and oppressed the Syrian people for 40 yrs and that these “rats” as you like to call them, are part of a national Syrian resistance movement fighting an oppressive state makes you no better than any oppressor apologist.

Keep calling us pigs and rats all you want. The Syria Comment moderators obviously have no problem with this.

The opposition will elect “maybe” a government to manage North Syria remotely from Turkey.

This looks like being imposed by Turkey, Qatar, France and the UK who are totally opposed to the other countries who prefer that Bashar al Assad stay in power during negotiations.

If the North is not controlled, the Turkish PKK fighters who disagree with the Ocalan-Erdogan peace deal will move to Syria and will try to create more problems to Turkey
Therefore if Bashar al Assad is still in power in 2014, Erdogan may loose his election as president. For him, the fall of Bashar al Assad is a matter of his political survival.

This expat ‘government’ will have hard time establishing any credibility if it is not supported by a strong military wing.
The FSA not only ‘does not exist’ but many of its ‘components’, including the Islamists and Al Nusras are systematically opposed to a expat-made government and will not cooperate in managing Northern Syria.

While Qatar and Turkey and the two colonial powers think they are reviving for the half-dead opposition, they are actually carrying it into a deep quagmire where it may loose the little credibility it has.

• Hundreds of well-armed jihadists have entered Syria through the borders with Jordan, al-Watan said.
• Another 15, 000 are poised to head to Syria after finishing special training in Lebanon, the paper said.
• A day earlier, the Syrian army reinforced its posts on the border with Lebanon.

DAMASCUS, March 17 (Xinhua) — Hundreds of well-armed jihadists have entered Syria through the borders with Jordan, as another 15, 000 are poised to head to Syria after finishing special training in Lebanon, Syria’s pro-government al-Watan newspaper said Sunday.

Hundreds of jihadists equipped with light and medium machine guns, anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons as well as four-wheel drive vehicles have entered Syria from Jordan through the southern province of Daraa, al-Watan said.

“Thus, Jordan has succumbed to the United States and Gulf States’ pressure to become, like Lebanon and Turkey, a passage to the jihadists into Syria,” the paper said.

Meanwhile, the paper said that about 15,000 jihadists have finished their training in northern Lebanon and are poised to head to Syria.

A day earlier, the Syrian army reinforced its posts on the border with Lebanon, namely all along the downstream of the Nahr Al Kabir area which separates Lebanon from Syria.

Damascus announced Thursday that its forces would fire into Lebanon if “terrorist gangs” continued to infiltrate into Syria. “During the past 36 hours, armed terrorist gangs have infiltrated into the Syrian territory in large numbers from Lebanon,” said a letter sent by Syria’s Foreign Ministry to its Lebanese counterpart.

“Syrian forces are showing restraint by not striking these gangs inside Lebanese territory to prevent them from crossing into Syria, but this will not go on indefinitely,” the ministry added.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said Saturday that Lebanon’s stability depends “on all of us … not sending militants to Syria and not receiving them,” adding that “we must commit ourselves to neutrality.”

Suleiman said he had tasked Lebanon’s army with “the arrest of any militants intending to fight in Syria, whether for the opposition or not.”

The report came at a time when Britain and France were pushing for lifting an arm embargo on Syrian rebels to tilt the balance in the fight against the government troops.

On Saturday, the Syrian parliament sent three identical messages to the chairman of the European Parliament, the chairman of the National French Society, and the head of the British Common Council, protesting against the French and the British governments ‘ attempts to legitimize arming the armed groups.

Tara,
supposedly, the NC met and negotiated among themselves and came up with the list. The list indicates that the NC is still having a internal power struggle and that it is affected by the same disease that infected the middle east for generations, the NC does not intend to give the new “PM” any real power, they just want to satisfy conditions imposed by Qatar and France.
I particularly like the last minute addition of Michele Kilo as a “window dressing” to hide the fact that the MB and Qatar are calling the shots.
another problem is that rebels do not recognize the NC and are unlikely to listen to anything the NC says.

It seems wrong but it is not. Once the missiles are finished then all shabbiha, Hezballah members, Republican Guard soldiers and even Buthaina Shaaban will be launched as human missiles. There were born for martyrdom.

So what is the current state of the foreign reserves? At one point it was said they were dwindling by half-a-billion dollars a month. I guess Assad is relying on money from abroad now (Iran).

It won’t be long before Assad, perhaps behind her back, resorts to putting Asma’s expensive shoe collection, wardrobe and furniture on ebay to raise funds. Having thus far remained steadfastly by her husbands side, this would be a real test of her loyalty.

Tara wrote: “I’m eating in a meddle eastern restaurant Manaeesh Zaatar and just remembered why-discuss.. I hope he is doing alright and he is healthy and happy and…that he sees the light.”

Tara, I have the feeling that you have been communicating with the same guy all along since he dropped the nickname. The reason is that both he and “Zoo” repeatedly made the grammatical mistake of attaching to the verb “renounce” the preposition “to”, as a translation of the French “renoncer à”.

Don´t be afraid about Assads properties, before selling one single Asma´s shoe they will flee to UAE where they own half Dubai. This is how they love Syria. They are fighting for Syria because for them Syria is a machine that produces billions of dollars for their own property.

The signal of Assads selling their properties in Dubai would be the fall of the real state by 25 % in one month.

Did you read it somewhere as to who nominated these people? If so please provide the link. Couldn’t be the NC as Al khateeb in the last letter on his FB was kinda questioning the same thing. Why is AlKhateeb not a candidate? Who are these people that we have never heard their names before? What did they do for the revolution?

So I am being threatened with the SAA boys doing the unthinkable as they have been prepared by the late Hafez Vito Corleone with his security house of cards.

I thought the conthtitution that the prethident has just graced it with guarantees the freedom of speech.

I also thought that the SAA is an ideologically based army whereby it carries the glorious eternal message of the one Arab nation.

I also thought that the regime is a legitimate entity that abides by its international obligations including the charter of the UN that J’amuse Jaffaari keeps reminding us that Thouria is a founding member of.

I also thought that the so called legitimate regime has signed the Universal declaration of Human rights and I also thought that it has a delegate in Geneva to represent the prethident in the UN human rights commission.

I also thought that the SAA is fighting terror not freedom of speech.

I also thought that it has all the power in the world to invade Lebanon and Iraq and Jordan and to destroy NATO and the Turkish armed forces and to down its air force and to send Scuds flying to Ankara.

In the meantime, a Scud landed in the north of Syria another unthinkable act by the unthinking thugs calling it their Thouria Alathad.

Typical bullies, threatening when they are sure there is no response.

The slogan Arnab fi Aljolan and Athad fi Loubnan fits more than ever.

I am about to go back and drink the Kool Aid of Manar and Alalam and SANA and Addounia and Alwatan and Alikhbariah and report to you again.

What is the price of chicken today and how much is the price of tomatoes and how much time do you have to wait to get a gas canister?

Now you can go into a corner and hold your blanky for comfort with a picture of Ray Ban Thouria Alathad OK???????

The Free Syrian Army has launched an investigation into the arrest of “The Yellow Man of Aleppo” – a local celebrity who was detained by rebels in the city last week.

[…]

Last night, the FSA announced that it had begun an investigation to find the men responsible for the abuse.

“The Military Council in Aleppo is investigating this incident,” said Louay Almokdad, the FSA’s media and political co-ordinator. “This kind of thing is not allowed and the people in the video will be brought to justice.”

“I am following the investigation, along with our officers. We want to know who they are and to which group they belong. We are not even sure that they belong to the FSA at this point,” he said.

He added: “Several people said this man was working with the regime and that he was talking about the FSA. We have said that whatever he did, this is not the way we should treat people.”

Syrian rebel forces captured a military intelligence facility close to the border with the Golan Heights on Sunday, in the latest instance of Syrian fighting reaching uncomfortably close to Israel’s border.

The compound in the town of Shajara was captured after a five-day siege and intense fighting, Reuters reported. It is only eight kilometers (five miles) from the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria.

The SNC decision processes are more opaque than the regime’s. There has been no public information about the nominations.
For me it is clear like spring water that they are the Qatar-Turkey candidates with the approval of France and the UK.
Qatar practices the ‘checkbook diplomacy’ as reported by french journalist Malbrunot. They’ll pay for the expenses only if their candidate is chosen.
Al Qadi is fluent in english and lives in Canada. He is neat looking and should please the West, but maybe too westernized for North Syria rural people. He is also close to Qatar.
The other candidate is closer to the Syrian people but totally unknown.

232:
“No, it is precisely Western-controlled countries that are stable.
Compare Zurich to Homs, or Vienna to Aleppo”
Zurich and Vienna are not controlled by NATO and the GCC, these are european cities that were built on tolerance and democracy, compare that to the GCC and any country that was invaded by NATO, your response to my post indicates that you are not interested in a real conversation, what NATO and GCC are trying to do in Syria is more like Lebanon or Iraq except that they have no clue of how to neutralize Alqaeda and Nusra.
I like the vidoe posted by rev on aljazeera english, it always amazed me to see how “moderate” aljazeera english looks like compared to the real aljazeera, Qatrai sheikhs are trying to polish the image of that media whore house (aljazeera) to look “westernized” and now they want access to US market through cable networks.
Joshua has always believed that the middle east is dividied along sectarian lines, he is not far from the truth but he needs to admit that for Syria to propser sectarian politics need to die, slowly but steadily, the SNC “legal advisor” is a liar and mr makki is somewhat naive in my judgement, I still see a benefit from hearing the three, one funny moment was when makki and SNC guy agreed that this war is not sectarian, I laughed then I stopped laughing, sectarianism is written all over the walls, it affected relationships between syrians all over the world and it threatens to end Syria as a functioning state, this is why a secular pleural government was and still is what is best for a diverse society like Syria.
(Tara, the NC refused to make their deliberations and internal “elections” public, we all know why now)

I make the same grammatical mistakes most native Arab speaker make like forgetting to attach an S to verbs when using he/she etc. I am sure those who speak French and English in addition to Arabic make common set of mistakes.

On a silly note, I feel I am the most “peasant” among the multilingual contributors on SC, speaking no French at all…I get so jealous.

DAMASCUS (AFP)— Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s wife and his children have made a rare public appearance at a charity fund-raiser in Damascus for mothers of soldiers killed in the two-year conflict, his office said on Facebook Sunday.

The office said that Asma al-Assad, her three children as well as their cousins “took part Saturday in a charity event called… at the Damascus Opera House on the occasion of Mother’s Day.”

This is so depressing. The prospect of Syrians finding a leader to lead them is very poor. Not that there are no potential candidates but it is because we have problem being subordinate to anyone. It is you are either with me or you are a traitor. Takhween the others are so much ingrained in our brain that it became the norm for us. We must be forced into the process of nomination, election and then concession to those democratically elected, and finally pledging alliance to unite the country. Otherwise, it is this generic deficiency of problem with subordination that kept the opposition fragmented for 2years despite the misery of the Syrian people.

Sandro add HYPOCRITE because you treasonous snakes have called us “murderers” and “Shabiha” here at SC for two years. It is okay for you to call us “regime thugs” etc but not okay for us to speak honestly and call you what you are – rats?

Is that your free speech at work? You revolution of Saudi pedophile rats in action?

If I were you I’d walk outside and look up. I am hearing the sound of Scuds launched and they sound FLIPPIN’ BEAUTIFUL!

In the “fog of war”, chaos, internal competition, opportunism, lack of coordination etc. I think most people covering Syria are very well aware that there is no neatly defined FSA.

But if you want people to keep reporting on Syria and keep it in the news and the plight of Syrians before international attention you will accept lack of complex analysis and detailed classification of who is what.

Leave that for the expert observers and analysts to sift and follow and debate, knowing the details are in a constant state of change.

Syrians are fighting to get rid of Assad. And in response he’s burning the country.

That’s the story. Pray the media sticks to this basic narrative and not give up in confusion.

You yourself give sound reasons why the media use the term “FSA”. If you want people to start reporting on which self-named battallion did what (or takes unproven credit for doing something), the story is heading for confused obscurity and the back burner.

Many revolutions have been fought chaotically on the ground by diverse groups but the opposition forces are later in history given a collective name. If things move forward to the fall of Assad, and Syrians are able to shake off the MB and JAL opportunistic interference they’ll be left with something that can be generically termed the FSA.

BBC Documentary, ‘A History Of Syria With Dan Snow’, Was ‘Biased And Inaccurate’ Say Critics

The BBC is being heavily criticised for a “biased and inaccurate” documentary on Syria’s civil war, reports Al Arabiya.

‘A History of Syria with Dan Snow’, which aired last week, has come under fire from a number of prominent London-based Syrians who argue the programme pandered to the regime of president Bashar al-Assad.

Ghassan Ibrahim, chief executive of the London-based news site Global Arab Network (GAN), called on the BBC to issue an apology for misrepresenting the Syrian opposition.

In the documentary, presenter, Dan Snow, framed the current civil war as a struggle between secularism and religion.

He then places this in historical context by comparing it to the struggle between the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Assad’s father, Hafez in the 70s and 80s.

Ibrahim, who is Syrian, argues this takes history “out of context”.

He added: “[The show] wasn’t really balanced. It represented the views mainly of the regime. He’s saying all the opposition is Muslim Brotherhood or extremists.

“The Muslim Brotherhood is not the leader of this revolution. In the 1980s it was a different story. To put it that history is repeating itself is not true.

“You don’t just pick and choose from the history to suit what’s going on today.”

In the program, Snow calls the conflict “primarily a Sunni Muslim revolution”.

He adds: “The conflict in Syria is attracting Sunni Islamic extremist fighters from Syria and abroad – some linked to Al Qaeda, who have carried out car-bombings… Elements of the Free Syrian Army have been blamed for summary executions and torture of Alawites [the religious group to which Assad belongs] and other supporters of Assad’s regime.

“Such atrocities are terrifying Alawites, who are scared that the oppression and bloodshed of the past is about to repeat itself.”
Similarities have been drawn between Snow’s conclusions and the official line coming from Damascus.

Writing in the Telegraph, Sameer Rahim said:

“His explanation why the Syrians are rebelling was suspiciously close to Assad’s line: that many resent Assad’s coming from a religious minority. After French Colonialism ended in 1946, Syria was unstable until Hafez al-Assad, the father of the current president, seized power in 1970. Sunni Syrians were opposed to him, Snow informed us, because Hafez was from the minority religious sect the Alawite, whom some regard as not proper Muslims. In 1982, after an attempt on his life, Hafez sent in the troops to the Sunni powerbase of Hama, and massacred 20,000.”
The choice of interviewees in the program has also been accused of giving an unbalanced view of the sides involved in the conflict.”

Whilst those on the side of al-Assad tended to be high ranking officials, Ibrahim said: “From the [opposition] side, you didn’t find anyone who was a real figure or anyone you can identify.
“He did not give them any platform to talk.

“There is a big, big gap in this film. It looked like it was politically motivated.”

Suspicions have also been raised about how Snow gained such open access to parts of Syria where other reporters are forced to use pseudonyms.

Article: BBC Documentary, ‘A History Of Syria With Dan Snow’, Was ‘Biased And Inaccurate’ Say Critics

The BBC is being heavily criticised for a “biased and inaccurate” documentary on Syria’s civil war, reports Al Arabiya.

‘A History of Syria with Dan Snow’, which aired last week, has come under fire from a number of prominent London-based Syrians who argue the programme pandered to the regime of president Bashar al-Assad.

Ghassan Ibrahim, chief executive of the London-based news site Global Arab Network (GAN), called on the BBC to issue an apology for misrepresenting the Syrian opposition.

In the documentary, presenter, Dan Snow, framed the current civil war as a struggle between secularism and religion.

He then places this in historical context by comparing it to the struggle between the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Assad’s father, Hafez in the 70s and 80s.

Ibrahim, who is Syrian, argues this takes history “out of context”.

He added: “[The show] wasn’t really balanced. It represented the views mainly of the regime. He’s saying all the opposition is Muslim Brotherhood or extremists.

“The Muslim Brotherhood is not the leader of this revolution. In the 1980s it was a different story. To put it that history is repeating itself is not true.

“You don’t just pick and choose from the history to suit what’s going on today.”

In the program, Snow calls the conflict “primarily a Sunni Muslim revolution”.

He adds: “The conflict in Syria is attracting Sunni Islamic extremist fighters from Syria and abroad – some linked to Al Qaeda, who have carried out car-bombings… Elements of the Free Syrian Army have been blamed for summary executions and torture of Alawites [the religious group to which Assad belongs] and other supporters of Assad’s regime.

“Such atrocities are terrifying Alawites, who are scared that the oppression and bloodshed of the past is about to repeat itself.”

Similarities have been drawn between Snow’s conclusions and the official line coming from Damascus.

Writing in the Telegraph, Sameer Rahim said:

“His explanation why the Syrians are rebelling was suspiciously close to Assad’s line: that many resent Assad’s coming from a religious minority. After French Colonialism ended in 1946, Syria was unstable until Hafez al-Assad, the father of the current president, seized power in 1970. Sunni Syrians were opposed to him, Snow informed us, because Hafez was from the minority religious sect the Alawite, whom some regard as not proper Muslims. In 1982, after an attempt on his life, Hafez sent in the troops to the Sunni powerbase of Hama, and massacred 20,000.”

The choice of interviewees in the program has also been accused of giving an unbalanced view of the sides involved in the conflict.”

Whilst those on the side of al-Assad tended to be high ranking officials, Ibrahim said: “From the [opposition] side, you didn’t find anyone who was a real figure or anyone you can identify.

“He did not give them any platform to talk.

“There is a big, big gap in this film. It looked like it was politically motivated.”

Suspicions have also been raised about how Snow gained such open access to parts of Syria where other reporters are forced to use pseudonyms.

Where are the sounds of SCUDs, I hear nothing. I guess the Syrian SCUDs work only against other Syrians. It is always someone else’s job to fight Israel, not Assad’s and his dirty cowards. I am making Assad an honorary Zionist for ensuring that no Syrian SCUD is ever fired at Israel. Perhaps I will put up a picture of him after all.

DAMASCUS — Lebanon and Jordan are playing with fire by allowing jihadists and weapons to pass across their borders into Syria, the Syrian government newspaper Al-Thawra warned on Sunday.

“The fire of terrorism will consume not only Syria, but could spread to Lebanon and Jordan, particularly if these two countries intervene in the situation in Syria, ignoring the flow of armed men and weapons from their territory, or by participating directly in the conspiracy against Syria,” the newspaper said.

“Jordan has opened its borders in recent days (allowing) passage of jihadists… whereas before it was satisfied with just facilitating the movement of elements trained on its territory by US intelligence,” it added.

“As for Lebanon, it is closing its eyes to the trafficking of weapons to Syria, led by elements that are not part of the government.”

On Friday, a security source in Damascus criticised Jordan, saying the kingdom has “opened its borders and is allowing to cross over (into Syria) jihadists and Croatian weapons bought by Saudi Arabia.”

“This can only intensify the conflict and cause more casualties,” the source told AFP in Beirut on condition of anonymity.

But Jordanian Information Minister and government spokesman Samih Maaytah said Sunday that his country “rejects interfering in Syrian affairs.”

“The Jordanian army is exerting a lot of efforts to control the border and prevent infiltrations,” he told AFP in Amman.

“The goal is to preserve Jordan’s security and make sure there is no interference in Syrian affairs. Under this framework, there might be some military measures here or there, but nothing more.”

“Jordan’s position has always been clear. The kingdom’s priority is to protect its own border, while at the same time preserve Syria’s unity.”

On Thursday, Syria’s foreign ministry warned that it would retaliate if Lebanon continued to allow “armed terrorist gangs” to infiltrate.

“Syrian forces are showing restraint by not striking these gangs inside Lebanese territory to prevent them crossing into Syria, but this will not go on indefinitely,” it said in a message to its Lebanese counterpart.

Beirut has officially pledged neutrality in the violence engulfing its neighbour, but has found itself increasingly embroiled in the civil war.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Sunday stressed that the government’s so-called self-dissociation policy towards the Syrian crisis does not mean “allowing these clashes to move to Lebanon,” warning against “foreign interference” in Lebanon.

“I hold the prime minister (Najib Miqati) responsible, because dissociating ourselves from Syria’s clashes does not mean allowing these clashes to spill over into Lebanon,” Aoun said during a tour of the Kesrouan district.

“We will not allow an explosion, but the risk lies in a possible foreign interference,” Aoun added.

The FPM leader stressed that “it is unacceptable to keep our border with Syria open for gunmen and arms trafficking.”

“It is true that we have dissociated ourselves, but we allowed some people to become heavily involved in the Syrian crisis,” Aoun said.

He warned that “there are several pressures and attempts to blow up the situations,” calling on security chiefs to “shoulder their responsibilities in preserving security, controlling the border and combating extremism.”

232. DOLLY BUSTER
That is the recompense of siding with evil (Moscow).
are you free? if you are it is good ! why you havea a lot of negativity in your comments such as: instability, hyperinflation ,“Dead” ? Are you infected with hatred or arrogance? ?
Venezuela, according to U.S. institutions have democracy and transparency makes it ranks first in the Americas
Viva Venezuela! Gloria a Venezuela!
La caída terrorismo imperialista global!

Not only does Assad not threaten Israel, only Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, he doesn’t even fire at Israeli planes when they attack him. Assad is not just an Honorary Zionist, he is a member of the Elders of Zion (yes, they do exist, it says so in the famous book).

“Do all your friends and family believe that way? Even younger generations?”

I speak for myself and family and I totally stand with my answers.

Back in the days when Hafez (peace be upon him) developed the new modern Syria and got us out of the mountains Alawis were divided between Assad worshipers and some opposition, yes opposition Hafez was challenged many times by his own people believe it or not but the council of our theology always sided with him and those people were thrown in prison. Anyway at that time and all the way till late 90s we were enjoying perks and nothing else something like a paid house, cars, guns, free pass to lebanon ..etc but still not rich, so if any was to lose his job then he pretty much lost everything and that’s why the older generation was attached to Hafez.

In our case and because my dad works in the presidential palace we got to know his lordship really well and see his real side, many many times he came over for a homemade meal or coffee and too many cigarettes, every time he talked to us we were in more believe that he’s our savior.

Then another era started when Bashar took over, and because he was not the best option by the majority of senior Alawi officials he opened more perks and flexibility to them. during that era Alawis started working in business and investments, well they did not have money to invest but they covered up rich Sunni merchants and got their kickback in return. It was the best era by far and only in that period of time Alawis felt home in Damascus because they could match and mingle with other rich people in look, accent and spendings. For that generation yes young Alawis did not worship Bashar they were just happy that their parents are getting more rich and they get to fly here and there and appear good.

When the crisis started two years ago everything has changed and ALL Alawis (young, old, perks , no perks, rich , poor, loyal, opposition ..etc) stood by Bashar to defend the sect. Bashar has failed us in the first 6 months when he gave too much without gaining anything and that’s where he was warned to step up his game and act like a leader or clear the way to other leader and thankfully the Hafez gene finally kicked in him.

Bashar will not go anywhere, and if he gets killed millions of Alawis will die with him including myself.

I am still remembering and watching the Zionist filth running into bomb shelters crying last year when the Gazans tossed a few rockets at them. According to the Zionist media the Iron Dome failed to stop the rockets. Just imagine when it is thousands of rockets.

This pathetic moron thinks he should rule the world, but he can’t even rule his hair baldness.
He has done plastic surgery. Is that supposed to be “macho”? What kind of fаg injects botox into his face.

I consider Putin’s existence a personal insult to myself, and I will attempt to outlast him.

The regime idiots keep promising SCUDs but then I look around and nothing is landing here. They are firing all of them at their own citizens. What is going on? Thank you Assad! You are the greatest ever! You are Zionist of the Year!

I also love Bashar! How he calmly shoots SCUDs at his own people and cities and doesn’t even fire at Israeli planes bombing him. Really, no one can do it in such a calm manner. He must be the favorite for Zionist of the Year!

Yes, Bashar is great! During his 11 years in control he never tried to take back the Golan, never fired a shot there, and most importantly, he did it calmly. What was his excuse for 11 years? Zionist of the Year!

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will reportedly discuss the possibility of joint Israeli-US airstrikes on Syrian arms stockpiles when US President Barack Obama visits Israel later this week.

Netanyahu will try to convince Obama that the US should aid Israel if there is sufficient evidence that missiles are being passed on to Hezbollah forces, Britain’s The Guardian reported Sunday, citing an unnamed Israeli official.

Obama has made it clear in the past that the US would intervene in order to stop Syrian president Bashar Assad from using chemical weapons or transferring such weapons to Hezbollah.

However, the source, close to Netanyahu, told the paper it seems like Israel has been “left alone” to deal with the Syrian threat.

“Maybe it would be better if Israel doesn’t do it,” the Israeli official said. “But who is going to deal with it?”

In January, Israeli fighter jets reportedly targeted and destroyed a Syrian weapons convoy which was believed to have been carrying ground-to-air missiles, apparently on their way to Hezbollah terrorists.

Israel is also expected to pressure Obama to draw a definitive red line for military action against Iran, although the president’s administration has been reluctant to do so as of yet.

Contrary to statements by Netanyahu — that the moment of truth concerning Iran’s nuclear program was spring 2013 — Obama said in an interview with Channel 2 news Thursday that the US estimates that Iran can produce a bomb only in about a year, given its current rate of progress, and that US action would not come before October 2013.

“Our timetable and the Israel timetable aren’t entirely congruent, but the United States does not want to have to react to Israeli military action,” Dov Zakheim, a former US under-secretary of defense, said at the Herzliya Conference last week.

“We don’t want the tail wagging the dog, and with all due respect to Israel, we’re still the dog,” Zakheim said.

The Prime Minister’s Office told the paper that it was more likely Netanyahu would find a sympathetic ear on Syria than on Iran.

Israel has shown it will attack any missiles moved to Lebanon. That is called acting. Assad has shown he will not even fire at Israeli planes doing so. That is also called “acting”. It is clear that in his final days Assad will try to move weapons to Lebanon. Netanyahu is simply putting Obama on notice now: Either Obama commits to attack also, or Israel has full legitimacy to act on its on.

Either option is fine with Israel. It is better to prepare world public opinion now for the massive Israeli attacks in Syria that will most probably come. By showing that the international community has failed to act there will be much less criticism of Israel for acting on its own.

That’s stupid. The missiles sent to Lebanon are not even detected by Israel. Any weapons Hezbollah needs Hezbollah has. Do you think they’re sitting around eating M&Ms waiting? They’re ready, more than ready and you know it. Israel fears them or would act to wipe them out. Israel has the air to itself so why not attack? What are they scared of? Hezbollah is not even a national army but a movement. Is Israel so scared of them they let them arm with 100,000 rockets?

There are pictures of result of the attack and it is obvious that air to air missiles were attacked. It is clear also that Assad in his cowardice did not even fire at the planes attacking him. It is clear that for the last 6 years Hezbollah has not fired ONE rocket at Israel even when Israel was fighting in Gaza TWICE. Nasrallah just sat and twiddled his fingers. All Israel wants is a quiet border and the border with Lebanon has never been more quiet than in the last 6 years. What could Israel ask more and why would it change the status quo? Israel will attack Hezbollah if they shoot ONE rocket. But they haven’t shoot ONE in 6 years.

Why didn’t Assad attack Israel ONCE in the Golan for 11 years? What was his excuse then? The regime idiots never answer this question. It is the same reason he cannot find the courage to even shoot at Israeli planes attacking him. Is he “resistance” or not?

I think this has been true all over Europe but they had two world wars and several millions of death before they started to change.
After WWW 2 the bogey man of Europe was the Soviet Union. It allowed the european countries to unite, make compromises, grow and peace among them.

An external threat is often needed to unite. Israel was that for a while until Egypt and Jordan betrayed and broke the whole unity. Since then, very few Arab countries remained united against Israel, while the others started to look for another bogey man.
Now the bogey man for Sunnis is Iran and the Shias and for minorities it is the Sunni Islamist extremists.
As both ares supported by powerful countries, the Arab world will remain divided for a long time along these lines and Israel is rejoicing not being the bogey man anymore.
I don’t expect changes in the genetics for a long time.

Nobody is fooled by the Jordanians double language.
They claim officially they don’t want to interfere in Syria’s affairs and unofficially they open their borders to jihadists and weapons from Croatia.

The king is playing with fire. His artificial country could easily collapse from internal unrest. He has enough enemies that would be willing to topple him.
If he does not put a stop to the ‘unofficial’ actions on the borders, he is an accomplice to the enemies of Syria and he should bear the consequences.

AIG if you’re asking me my answer is 2006 when you lost against Hezbollah. You know that. You don’t speak for Israel. Israelis said they lost. It was Syrian and Iranian rockets that Hezbollah was firing at Israel. They’re allies. Remember?

So far Assad has fired SCUDs only at his own people and cities. Do you really think anyone believes he will fire them at another country? Of course not. You are full idle threats. You know, Assad has done nothing except kill his own people and that is what he will continue to do.

The Golan was quiet for 11 years. Not one rocket, not one bullet, not one anything. Why? Assad wants the Golan back or not? Why didn’t he try taking it? Simple question and no answers forthcoming. The truth is so hard to face.

Until the idiot regime supporters can give an answer to this their credibility is sub-zero.

Yes, Assad won in 2006! The Golan is Syrian! Israel does not have a quiet border with Lebanon for 6 years without ONE rocket! Oh sorry, just the opposite. The Golan and Lebanon border are completely quiet even though Israel attacked Assad. In fact he did not shot back even at the planes attacking him!

Yes Israel is a prison! In fact the Druze in the Golan are on average much richer, more secure and much more educated than the average Syrian. And they can go and come back as they please, even study in Syria.

Still waiting for an answer:
The Golan was quiet for 11 years. Not one rocket, not one bullet, not one anything. Why? Assad wants the Golan back or not? Why didn’t he try taking it?

Then what is wrong with Sunni Syrians failing to unite under one leadership. Thinking loud, is it that Sunnis do not have a religious “wali” so to speak so they are not used to subordination? I can see the internal bickering very clear. Everyone thinks he is “the man” and every one else is “serving” their own interest. I an sure the external interference supporting some and not the others playing a role.

Ascribing this to Sunnism though is not fair. Libyans united in one day after the ex-minister of justice so what is wrong with the Syrians? Too arrogant when they get some power to concede it democratically and accept defeat? Do the expat opposition know what democracy really means?

Still no answer to the simple question, only infantile slogans.
Here is the question again, why not try answering it:
The Golan was quiet for 11 years. Not one rocket, not one bullet, not one anything. Why? Assad wants the Golan back or not? Why didn’t he try taking it?

Question 1:
Who has the Golan, Israel or Assad?
Question 2:
In which direction are the Assad SCUDs flying?
Question 3:
Who has killed more Syrians, Israel or Assad?
Question 4:
Who has leveled more Syrian cities, Israel or Assad?
Question 5:
Which Israeli border has been the most quiet since 1973?

The GCC never fired a bullet at Iran but never claimed they are the pulsing heart of Arabism. Bashar claimed to be part of the axis of resistance, the pulsing heart of Arabism yet his father handed the Jolan to Israel and Bashar kept it quiet. So who is coward?

You know very well that the problem with Sunnis is that, contrary to Shias, there are different brands of Sunnism that not only can’t stand each other, but secretly consider each other as invalid.
The Moslem Brotherhood hates the Salafists and vice-versa, the moderate Sunnis hates both etc… But yet, they smile at each other and repeat that they are brothers sunnis.

That’s why it is impossible for Sunnis to ever unite religiously and even less politically, unless they get into a confrontation that will decide who is the legitimate brand. That will never happen because the different brands of Sunnis do not want to accept that they are actually enemies, competing for power. They prefer to consider Shias as their enemy, it is more reassuring and of course it paralyzes them.

If religion is excluded from politics than democracy becomes possible. That’s what Ataturk did to Turkey that’s also what Israel did and that’s what Hafiz al Assad attempted to do.

Ok until this phrase. I told you before but you refused to see. Religion and fanaticism does not have to be about ancient texts, ancient people, and ancient god. You read Kheder on SC before. You know how Hafiz constructed the army leadership and the security forces with all Alawis. And if you forget, search kheder on SC and read his last post. This ain’t secularism. Insisting otherwise, makes the argument futile.

Syria has been abandoned by the cowards Jordan and Egypt who signed peace agreements with Israel.
Syria is not rich and strong enough to face the Israelis military power supported by 2 billions US dollars a year given by the USA to Israel.
It is not suicidal to attack Israel. It did what it could. It helped Hamas and it helped the 2006 humiliating Israeli defeat in 2006. That is extremely admirable if you are part of the people who think that Israel is unjustly occupying lands and oppressing Palestinians. It is not enough if you’re not.

The GCC has billions of dollars of US weapons, yet they don’t dare confront Iran who is supposedly occupying two of their islands.
They are good in sending weapons for Syrian to kill Syrians and are not even able to get back lands that they claim belong to them

Major Agha H. Amin is a retired Pakistani military officer and the author of various books, including ”Development of Taliban Factions in Afghanistan”, ”Taliban War in Afghanistan” and ”History of Pakistan Army”. He studied at the Forman Christian College and at the Pakistan Military Academy in Kalkul.

“The strategic idea of NATO, is aiming at securing the northern borders of Israel against Hezbollah and the southern borders against Hamas; to eliminate the Russian naval base in the eastern Mediterranean, Syrian city of Tartous. NATO is planning to create a western strategic corridor to maintain energy-security in the case that oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz are disrupted because of a war with Iran or otherwise.

“One of the first steps toward the implementation of the long-term strategic plan, is the partition of Turkey by creating separate Kurdish areas, thereby providing NATO a direct access to Russia’s soft underbelly in the Caucasus.

This can ideally be used to dominate the Caucasian oil as well as support the Chechen against Russia in a low intensity conflict. Also, to create a viable independent Kurd state, it would need a windpipe access to the sea. This can be provided via the southern coast of Turkey and the Northern Coast of Syria. Whether a Syrian government soldier or a Syrian Islamist ‘Nut’ dies in the process, ‘both are equally beneficial to the US/NATO’.”

Israel is cheering the war on and the longer it goes on the better they like it.

I never said Hafez al Assad succeeded.. Unfortunately the proof is what we see now.
Religious and ethnicty suspicions and distrust are still present in the middle east. They can’t be eradicated by on man. Turkey is still struggling with the Kurdish issues that have caused hundred thousands of death. Ataturk did not solve it and Erdogan 60 years later is still trying.

“You know how Hafiz constructed the army leadership and the security forces with all Alawis”

Please don’t tell me you were expecting to hand the leadership to Sunnis.

By the time Sunnis were enjoying their rich lifestyle in Damascus and buying our kids we were actively involved in the army. for long years we ditched everything and just focused on army recruitment, we paid sweat and blood to reach to the top then you want the leadership?

Since you’re based in Australia then you need to pay more attention now since your government has banned your terrorist Jihadists. So please keep it a low key because I don’t want to lose any of my friends in this battle.

I’m really happy that we reached to an understanding of friendship and respecting our differences, and I’m ready to start my dialog you promised me once when you ready.

The point though was to contest Hafiz’ effort being called secular. It wasn’t. He built an Alawi empire of army and security forces to maintain the power. So please do not call that secular.

The last edition of secularism I learned was not to wear high heals and miniskirts. It is to leave your beliefs home, not to impose it on others, and to and make everyone equal under the law regardless of their creed.

Zoo finally admitting that Syria cannot do much against Israel. And why can’t Syria do anything? Because Assad kept it economically weak and technologically backward. Yes, Assad is a genius. He handed Israel superiority on a silver platter. He never meant to attack Israel, just subdue his people and steal their dignity.

Keep believing the lie that Syria “won” anything in 2006. If that were the truth then:
1) Syria would not be in the position it is in now
2) The Lebanese Israeli border would not have been so quiet for 6 years
3) Assad would have retaliated for the bombing of the nuclear reactor and the recent bombing he got. There was no rocket fired at Israel from anywhere because of these two incidents.
4) Hezbollah would be talking about the Sheba Farms. They have stopped talking about them or doing anything about them.

You never answered my questions:
1) Why did you and your father run away from Syria?
2) Where is your honor and dignity licking the boots of Gulf Arabs who are funding the rebels? Have you no shame living in the Gulf?

Syria is much larger in territory than Israel and has 3 times the population of Israel. It also has much more oil than Israel and it received billions of aid from the Soviet Union. In spite of all this, it is much weaker than Israel and all because the Assads killed the Syrian economy and kept it a technological backwater, not to mention corrupt. Thank you Assads, for making sure Israel is so much stronger than Syria! Thank you for being Zionists!

“… if you are part of the people who think that Israel is unjustly occupying lands and oppressing Palestinians. It is not enough if you’re not…”

I do think that Israel is unjustly occupying lands and oppressing Palestinians. But I don’t think that the regime’s effort “helping” Hamas and HA is enough for Syrians to be maintained in slavery. And let me take it a step further, had the regime fired its Scuds at Israel and got the Jolan back, it is still not enough reason for us to stay slaves. We are way way beyond.. Basic human rights is taking a precedent over any nationalistic cause. And if we don’t have pride and dignity on our own, we can’t give it to the Palestinians.

Let’s agree that Assad controls the Golan, that the average Israeli is not about 10 times richer than the average Syrian, the Hezbollah has been shooting many rockets in the last 6 years. And let’s also agree that Assad is shooting SCUDs at Israel and not at his own people and cities.

Since the retards and the Assad cheerleaders have no answer for you (and will undoubtedly NEVER have an answer for you), I’ll do them a favor and provide the Baathist answers you’ve been waiting for the past 2 years:

Question 1:
Who has the Golan, Israel or Assad?

Assad in the very near future, perhaps tomorrow, maybe in the next 5 seconds.

Question 2:
In which direction are the Assad SCUDs flying?

The SCUDS are flying in the direction of Israeli, American and Gulf-state trained and armed terrorists. The resulting civilian death toll and minor destruction of infrastructure is obviously a necessary by-product of keeping in power, the most advanced and beloved leader and poster-child in world history.

Question 3:
Who has killed more Syrians, Israel or Assad?

We, the faithful servants of the poster-child God, believe arab lives are priceless, naturally, when a Zionist commits this type of unforgivable and heinous crime. However, when arabs kill arabs, it’s fairly common and not worth mentioning. I don’t know where this difference comes from, but it makes sense to me.

Assad Lives!

Question 4:
Who has leveled more Syrian cities, Israel or Assad?

The Israeli, American and Gulf-state supported terrorists must take full responsibility for our aerial bombing and Scudding of our beautiful Syrian cities. We aren’t responsible for anything, and we never will be responsible for anything. You see, we’re a government led by a repressive dictator, and as such, we are exempt from any law suits and the like. This is no different than all other repressive arab governments, and, well, you just have to get used to it. Please refer to the Baathist Military Law 235.9354a, paragraph 6: Non-Democratically Elected Terrorist-Inspired Insurrection

Question 5:
Which Israeli border has been the most quiet since 1973?

Your Zionist Hell will look nothing like our hell when we get finished with you, sometime, in the very near future. So don’t hold your breath. Stop the Occupation, Stop the Hate.

Syrians living without basic human rights? aren’t you mixing up with Saudis, or Somalis?

I wonder how many Syrians are proud of their country now. What sort of dignity the refugees in camps have? What sort of dignity the opposition has now that it is licking the feet of colonial powers to help them get out of the mess they’ve thrown the Syrians in.
Thank God, there are still proud Syrians who refuse the humiliation of begging from untrustworthy foreigners.

Keep idealizing this revolution, it failed and it is now a human disaster.

Isn’t it wonderful when the regime idiots display their inability to deal with any issue like grownups? Thank you for showing the world what the Assad regime really stands for, barbarism and stupidity.

I say after defeating the terrorist and reestablish the security tolerance should be the title of that era. We should not allow refugees back to Syria and those who defected should be sentenced to death but allowing their families to live in peace. We should nationalize all the abandoned assets in Syria and redistribute them amongst our army soldiers. Minorities who stood beside us should be rewarded wholesomely while those who crossed the bridge should be hanged from their balls.

Yes, yes, curse away, and then don’t forget to fire SCUDs at your own people and cities, just like the “genius” the regime supporters are. And thanks again for not being ashamed to show everybody the true nature of regime supporters.

The basic human right is the ability to live. Deny it all you want but Syrians never enjoyed that right. It was and still up to the masters to keep any one alive or.. Not. Hence, the ease at which the regime fired Scuds, cluster bombs and used artillery and MIGs to bombard its own cities.

Aren’t people that kiss the assess of the Gulf Arabs that fund the rebellion traitors? Why would you want to kill yourself Ali? But go ahead, we won’t stop you. When are you leaving the Gulf to regain any bit of honor you may have left?

We’re usually “filthy* after spending a few hours at the
gym, out in citrus groves, at the beach, or returning to base after an aerial sortie in Syrian airspace.

But because we’re The Chosen People*, this usually means we take a shower and ask Satan for forgiveness. I would be happy to share more details with you, including which shampoo is kosher for passover.

There is no doubt that Israel hates nothing more than seeing a credible fighting force that can restrain Israel which until 2006 was able to invade Lebanon at will without fearing the consequences. Israel failed to achieve the stated goals of its 2006 war,it mostly managed to bomb civilian targets including RHIA, Southern district of Beirut and Lebanon’s major electricity grids. 6 years after the war, Hizbullah is weaker only politically, thanks to the Syrian war, but the days when Israel can move in Lebanon without punishment are gone, probably forever. I regret the fact that some of you are unwilling to see the whole picture and are instead stuck in their narrow anti Shia anti Iran mindset. Working to create a military force that can protect Lebanon is indeed good for peace,not the opposite.
As for why a classical war has not been waged against a powerful army, the so called IDF, the reason is simple, Israel wants a war that it can win decisively and swiftly, guirella warfare is not what Israel wants but that what the weaker Arab side can do.
AIG posts about this matter is a reflection of israel’s frustration with Hizbullah which Israel fears more than any Arab army. It is the failure of corrupt and oppressive Arab regimes that gave Iran and Hizbullah the opportunity to form the only deterrent force that is able to force Israel to think twice before waging a picnic war against Lebanon.

Your analysis is just not correct. Israel left Lebanon completely in 2000 as was certified by the UN. If Israel wanted to stay in Lebanon, do you think that the 10 soldiers on average we were losing a year would have stopped us? Israel left Lebanon because all it wants is a peaceful border. Yes, Israel could have fought the war of 2006 much better. But the end result is the same. Israel got what it wanted, a quiet border. Exactly what it wanted when it left Lebanon in 2000.

If Hezbollah’s aim is for Israel not to attack Lebanon, it got it in 2000 when Israel left. But what they wanted was to be a thorn in Israel’s side and make life difficult for Israelis on the border. That ended in 2006 when Israel completely won by getting what it wanted. Hezbollah did not mount ONE attack against Israel since then, including way before the Arab Spring started.

DAMASCUS, March 17 (Xinhua) — After two years of deadly and protracted crisis, Syria seems everywhere but close to a peaceful resolution with some Western powers mull arming the rebels on ground while the exiled opposition is planning a brazen move to establish an interim government to run what it describes as ” librated” Syrian areas.

Despite the too many international conferences held over the past couple of years with voices calling for the need of political solution to Syria, some Western countries have recently divulged their outright backing to the rebels and the opposition in general, becoming thus a side in the conflict rather than impartial solution-makers.

Hundreds of rebel fighters were being given sophisticated- weapons training organized and authorized by the United States at a camp in neighboring Jordan, the CNN network said in a report citing unnamed source from rebels’ ranks.

The report said that 300 fighters have already completed the course and crossed the border into Syria on Thursday, adding that more rebel fighters are currently undergoing training.

The CNN story collaborated with what Syria’s al-Watan newspaper said on Sunday that hundreds of well-armed jihadists have entered Syria through the borders with Jordan, adding that another 15,000 are poised to head to Syria after finishing special training in Lebanon.

The report came at a time when Britain and France are pushing for lifting an arms embargo to rebels to tilt the balance in the fight against the Syrian troops.

Yet, Britain’s David Cameron and France’s Francois Hollande have failed to convince other European leaders to reverse a ban on arming the rebels in Syria, but Cameron hinted that he and Hollande might be prepared to go it alone.

The British prime minister claimed that a military solution might lead to a political one, while Hollande said that he has received guarantees from the Syrian rebels that any future arms would not end up in the wrong hands.

Following the reports, the Syrian parliament called for “not allowing some European governments to stir up the crisis in Syria and inflict more harm and damage to humanity,” warning that these harm will also affect European citizens.

Observers believe that sending arms to the rebels on ground will not be conducive to bringing both sides on the negotiation table but rather embolden the rebels into staging more attacks against the government troops.

With armament reports grasping the headlines, Syria’s main opposition coalition is set to meet in Turkey’s Istanbul on Monday and Tuesday to name a prime minister that would form an interim government to run the “liberated” areas in Syria.

A total of 12 names are running for the election, reports said, adding that 10 of whom are in exile while other two are inside Syria but their names have not been disclosed for security reasons.

The opposition’s move came almost a week after the Arab League demanded it to form a government in order to be given Syria’s seat in the bloc based on Qatar’s demand.

The coalition itself was formed in Qatar last year under pressure from some Gulf states that have emerged as main backers to the political opposition and the armed rebels of Syria.

The head of the coalition, Moaz al-Khatib, is reportedly going to represent Syria in the upcoming Arab League Summit in Qatar at the end of March. The summit, reports said, will undertake ” special decisions” related to arming the opposition.

Aside from political talks, several reports indicated that Qatar and Saudi Arabia have already sent weapons to the armed militias in Syria through Jordan.

The opposition move would probably slam the door before any possible negotiation with the Syrian government, which is still controlling major centers across the country, mainly the heavily fortified capital, analysts say.

The intensity of violence and counter-attacks have stepped up recently ahead of the farce of the opposition’s interim government, while observers believe that the rebels are trying to gain more ground to strengthen position before Western and regional powers provide either broader recognition or larger support.

On Sunday, Syria’s state-TV said as many as 25 people were massacred in the country’s northern province of Hasaka by armed men.

The airways are filled these days with news about the new Pope from Argentina. So, I thought I look him up on Google as he seems to be genuine, kind and gentile in appearance. One of the reporters Tel- casting the news live from the Vatican said that this was the first time that the Pope selected is not of a European origin. Not since Pope Gregory III (731-741) who was a Benedictine of Syrian origin !!!
wow, that was a total surprise. when I dug in a little deeper I found that not only one but five Popes were of Syrian origin. So, I thought that I share that with you.
The Greeks have 12 popes !!!

[…] by Aron Lund, for Syria Comment Is the FSA losing influence in Syria? How many people are in the FSA? Is the FSA receiving enough guns from the West, or too many? Will the FSA participate in electi… […]

Oh please. Don’t get carried away. Having women eating a snake or tempting them to fight (except in tge extreme circumstances) is degrading to any woman’ womanly status. Women are not interested in this equality… Ecxept those in Homs..

You want to comment about Christianity in Syria? then inform yourself before writing nonsense.

The majority of Syrian Christians are not Roman catholic, therefore they don’t recognize the Pope in the Vatican as their spiritual leader. They have no pope but several patriarchs depending on the location and one Archbishop who is their spiritual leader.

“The country’s largest Christian denomination is the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch (known as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East), closely followed by the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, itself a Uniate offshoot of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch,[and then by an Oriental Syriac Orthodox Church”

Their spiritual leader is BARTHOLOMEW, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch.
He resides in Turkey.

I vividly remember fox news and israel’s supporters’ frustration because Israel agreed to a cease fire at a time when it was clear that Hizbullah emerged largely intact after the 34 days war and Israel failed to achieve the wars stated objectives (unless the goal was to destroy civilian targets and turn hundred of thousands of lebanese into refugees). I find it hypocritical that our jewish friends cry foul at the syrian army’s collective punishmnet against civilians when that was israel’s policy for 80 years.
finally, we all remember Candy’s (C.Rice) refusal to push for a cease fire early in the war thinking that Israel only needs “few weeks to finish the job”.
Mr AIG, if you want to earn any respect on this board regarding your views on the arab-israeli conflict I suggest that you stick to the facts, I said that before: Denial is not a river in Egypt.
One of the objectives of the war against Syria is to take history backward by making sure that there is no arab fighting force that enters into israeli leaders calculations. the assassinations of syrian scientists and the attempts to involve hizbullah in Syrian civil war are part of this dirty game, having said that, the regime’s brutal and idiotic response to protestors in 2011 made Israel’s goal more attainable by allowing violence instead of negotiations to dominate any effort to end the conflict.
it is fairly possible to oppose Assad but still oppose Israel’s never ending policies of occupation, land theft and aggression, do not be fooled by what you hear from anti regime posters here, all syrians are anti israel,they are just busy with a temporary enemy now, there is a reason why Dayan said (not his exact words) : ” the danger always came from the north”.

DAMASCUS, March 17 (Xinhua) — The head of the Commercial Bank of Syria (CBS), the largest bank in the country, said in a recent interview with Xinhua that “after two years of war in Syria and after this complicated crisis, I think the economy is still acceptable.”

“I am totally satisfied with the results we have reached after two years of war… Because we don’t have debt in the past, our economy is still good,” Ahmed Diab said, raising prospects that the country would bypass this crisis very soon.

The prolonged crisis in Syria has had very bad effect on the country’s economy and caused losses totaled, according to recent economic reports, at 220 billion U.S. dollars.

Some of world countries have showered Syria with non-stop economic sanctions to throttle the Syrian government and speed up its collapse. The banking sector was the main target by those sanctions despite the government’s hectic efforts to keep it vital.

Diab admitted that the sanctions have some effects on the banks which are facing “some problems in making transfer.”

However, he added: “Depending on our long experience, we could succeed in making all kinds of business for the public sector and most of the business also for the private sector.”

“We got used to the sanctions and even the Syrian people got used to these difficulties and sanctions,” he went on saying.

The Syrian pound has lost 50 percent of its value and prices of almost all commodities and food stuff have either doubled or tripled.

Last year, the CBS espoused the policy of intervention to maintain a stable price for the pound in exchange for the dollar. It has succeeded in the past, but within the past three months, the pound sharply decreased and the bank’s efforts were of no avail and couldn’t stop further depreciation.

One U.S. dollar is sold in the black market at 106 pounds, the highest figure over the past two years. Shortly before the crisis, the dollar stood at 46 pounds.

Diab, however, confirmed that the Central Bank is still moving on with the policy of intervention.

Diab said that what happened in Syria is worse than what happened in Iraq or other countries, but “If we compared (our economy) with other economies that experienced the same conditions and circumstances that we faced in Syria, I think we are in a good condition… Their economies collapsed very quickly.”

“The priority for the government and the Central Bank of Syria is to keep a good price for the pound and to protect it,” he said.

“We are working to fix the price of the Syrian pound. We have had the same price for the pound in exchange for the dollar for two months,” he continued.

Diab said that the CBS, which was found in 1968 after the nationalization of private banks, has deposits of about 324 billion Syrian pounds (in Syrian pounds and foreign currency).

He noted that the bank is now granting loans for public companies and finance most of the imported good to Syria, “We are the only bank that is doing that now.”

For all those who don’t understand why it’s a die or live cause for us
For all those who don’t understand how we ready to die rather going back to the mountains
For all those who don’t understand our love to Hafez Alassad

WATCH THIS MOVIE

It shows where we were and what we have become
It shows you how we, Alawis, were forgotten and no cared about us
It shows you the loyalty to Hafez and Baa’th over any family ties
IT shows you how a whole generation went to army waiting for the right moment

“….In our case and because my dad works in the presidential palace we got to know his lordship really well”

Lordship? I`ve never heard anyone say this about Assad even the staunchest supporters. I found the tattoos and his picture (son) on the flags to be odd, but not as much as someone openly worshipping him. I honestly have a hard time to believe that someone can actually worship a president regardless of what he or she did for his family.

Here is ZOO quote:”The king is playing with fire. His artificial country could easily collapse from internal unrest. He has enough enemies that would be willing to topple him.
If he does not put a stop to the ‘unofficial’ actions on the borders, he is an accomplice to the enemies of Syria and he should bear the consequences”

The King is in Jordan and the Duck is in Thouria Alathad and both are artificial countries and both will be toppled by internal opposition if they do not respond to the legitimate aspirations of the people.

Before you poke Jordan’s eye with a tooth pick, remove the beam in your eye Mr. ZOO of Thouria Alathad.

AIG, you will not get an answer for the reality is that there was an agreement since 67 that the regime will protect the Israeli border for the WEST acquiescing to the brutality of the regime including policing the Palestinian and Lebanese factions since 1975 and helping the Turks control the Kurds as Hafez kicked Ocalan out of Syria for the Turkish Security services to pick him up later.

The regime as Rami Makhlouf wrote in the NYT in 2011 is a “guarantor” of Israel’s security just as Seif Ghaddafi affirmed as well.

Also the regime of cowards will never conduct any operation that would threaten its existence as Israel can. In 2003 they were deathly afraid of GWB but the fool fell into the trap and the incompetent Rumselfd allowed the Syrians and Iranians to bleed the Americans.

Now the US has learned its lesson: it is easy to swallow a ME country but impossible to digest.

Information provided by MajedKhaldoun @368 is accurate regardless of which denomination Christians of Syria belong to.

Having said that, I do not believe a Pope or two matter to the Syrian revolution since the majority of Christians in Syria chose their own selfish well being over that of Syria by chosing to side with killers.

Those brave Christians who openly sided with the revolution will be rewarded.

Tears are running all over my face just looking at this Alawi kids who were prevented from their basic human rights. Why Alawis weren’t allowed in cafes in Lattakia? Why Alawis were forced to ride away from urban Sunnis? Why Alawis weren’t allowed to address Sunnis face to face? Why Alawis weren’t allowed in courts and governmental office?

Yes, let’s stick to the facts.
True or not, since 2006 Hezbollah has not fired 1 rocket at Israel?
If true, why not since before 2006 this was a regular occurrence? Wars are won on the battlefield and in the political arena. By all measures, though Israel made mistakes in 2006, it won that war.

How is Israel trying to implicate Hezbollah in the Syrian civil war? It is doing nothing, Hezbollah is implicating itself.

Which Syrian scientist has Israel killed?

Israel has employed collective punishment but it has also constantly improved its ability for precise targeting. What Israel has never done is bomb its own cities and citizens. That is what amazes me that some Syrians support.

Open your eyes, Israel has played no role in what is happening in Syria or in the Arab Spring. All the wounds are self-inflicted. Israeli strategist doe not care whether Syria keeps itself weak by stifling economic develop and creativity or by internal fighting. Both end up with the same result except that the first is more predictable. I have been saying forever on this blog that if you want to beat Israel it has to be on the economic and technological front and that is why Assad made Syria so weak relative to Israel. He stifled the potential of the Syrian people.

I of course expect Syrians to hate or dislike Israelis. I have no problem with that. If we thought people liked us, we wouldn’t have the IDF. Myself, I have no animosity towards the Syrian people. It is a waste of energy and time to hate on such a large scale. I would rather build a successful country and improve the future of my children. And I am quite sure that when Assad is gone, Syrians will eventually come to this realization. They will not like Israel, but they will not want to fight any war with it, and that is good enough for me.

Ok, but have you ever considered there is an ALTERNATIVE to being a slave or a slaver? Such as, for example, a concept called POWER-SHARING? Not everyone who hates the regime are fanatics, you know.

The Lebanese eventually figured it out (kind of) after 15 years of war. How many years will it take you?

This attitude of yours is what the Japanese and the Germans had during WWII. It did not work out well for them. Despite their fanaticism and conviction, they still lost because their enemies overwhelmed them. And because of their fanaticism and conviction, they lost EVERYTHING.

So it is a sectarian regime based on hate and a sense of eternal victimhood
Why should the sons and grand sons of Sunnis guilty of discriminating against others be responsible for the actions of their elders?

Why would the children of Fred Corleone the Duck be killed or tortured or imprisoned as their illustrious father is responsible for the worst crimes against humanity in the 21st century?

Take a hike and if you want it to the end you will get it. But please NEVER ask for the International Community to come to your rescue. You have forfeited that right.

I actually have a good relationship with a number of jewish americans, I do not hate jews, I hate what israel did to palestinians and other arabs, all of my jewish colleagues know my position about Israel. Muslims until the 1930s treated jews better than anybody else accroding to what history books tell us and the testimonies of many jewish scholars, the two people can live together in peace when the injustice against palestinians is reversed.
I do not have anything to add about the 2006 war except to say that I do not think firing rockets on israeli settlements at random is ethical, both sides must avoid attacking civilians but the last time I checked it was Israel that is occupying arab land not the other way around, “forgetting” that simple fact means a lot to me.
one jewish fellow said this to me once:
” it is frustrating to me seeing arabs and jews fight endless wars when we all know that a coalition between the two will make the middle east a true power house without the saudi oil”.

Your regime and the Alawites have the right to defend themselves. And if they wish, they also have the right to fight to the death too.

But if the Alawites of Syria choose that path, that ALSO gives its enemies the right to kill everyone of you. As I’ve said before: it works both ways. If you go for total victory and you lose, then your enemies have the right to inflict upon you total defeat and annihilation.

This is a post to dear Visitor from a previous thread now that he is back from important business.

12. VISITOR SAID:

“Akbar, I believe the fathers of the US constitution would endorse what I said. I am certain that what they meant by freedom of speech at the time was not meant to abuse this right in a manner such as to insult people’s beliefs particularly the three great montheistic religions.”

Wow Visitor, I hope you have long arms like inspector gadget so that you can slap yourself on the back and say “Ata Boy” as much as you have given yourself thumps up. My dear Visitor, you have solved two major mysteries or two known unknowns (to borrow from Don Rumsfeld) with your statements.

1. Now we know that the reason Arabia has no Christians, Jews and Polytheists (as the garbage bin duster calls them) is because they were showered with so much tolerance, love and kindness from Muslims, they could not take it anymore and all left as they could never repay the gratitude.

2. Now we know that Muslims are coming to the west because western values and ideals are precisely Islamic and were stolen from the pact of khalifa Omar.

Now back to being serious, my dear Visitor, this is a big statement from someone who could not tell the difference between Nouri and Nawari (a gypsy) to delve into the past to figure out what Americas’ founding fathers were thinking or would agree with your bold statements. However, if you knew a few simple facts about early American history, you will see how wrong you are:

1.Americas’ founding fathers did not consider debating religious belief and dogma an insult nor did they believe that one should not analyse the actions of the religion founders. Thomas Jefferson wrote his own version of the Gospel about the life and moral code of Jesus Christ. A Muslim doing this about the Messenger of Islam will earn a death sentence today not in the year 1776.

2. Americas’ founding fathers believed in the sanctity of life, freedom and dignity of the individual and believed that power is vested in the collective people. In Islam all things belong to Allah and whatever Allah and his Messenger decree becomes law. Americas’ founding fathers views are incompatible with Islam. The declaration of independence affirms the right of the individual to pursue happiness not Jihad.

“What they created was an environment of tolerance not very much different from what the early Muslim civilization created before them. “

Visitor, your statements are growing even more ridiculously bolder here. As I have told you in a previous post, early Islam was tolerant because Muslims were still a minority that mirrors the early Muslims in Mecca before migrating to Medina.
Furthermore, the vast majority of early Muslims were “lukewarm Muslims” who were just re-converted to Islam by the Ridda wars of Abu Bakr (incidentally Sheikh Qaradawi recently admitted without Ridda wars Islam would not exist today). Moreover Visitor, those early Muslims were still highly influenced by the original Arabs (the polytheists) who were in fact very tolerant people. People like all things Visitor, have a momentum which eventually can be reduced over time.

The evidence is when the Messenger of Islam triumphantly entered the K’Abah, the Arabs had over 360 idols for all the various tribes who wanted a deity there, as well as, an Icon of the Messiah with his mother painted on the walls. This is a testimony that those Arabs were in fact much more tolerant than the Muslims who call that era the Jahalia.

In conclusion, for the love of Allah and the Messenger my dear Visitor please read real books not fairy tale ones and ask questions contrary what the Quraan says in Surat Al-MaEdah verse 101-102.

Mr akbar, your post is making you “asghar”,relax for a minute,
syrians who like Israel are as common as dogs who do not lick their butts. It is Assad’s actions that is giving Israel a honeymoon not a change of heart,my friend. sooner or later this war will be over but Israel will continue to face the reality of being an occupying force that is in breach of two dozen UNSC resolutions. Your defense that Israel is only bombing arabs not israelis is disturbing at best and quite pathetic indeed, it is like saying one criminal is better than another because he did not kill his family but chose to kill the neighbours !!

The question of occupation is the following:
Is Tel-Aviv occupied also or is there a difference between Hebron and Tel-Aviv? If there is no difference, there will be no peace. Which is fine, but let’s not delude ourselves that I as someone born in Israel to parents born in Israel is an occupier. The problem is not the occupation but the inability of most Arabs to accept a Jewish state in the middle east.

“The problem is not the occupation but the inability of most Arabs to accept a Jewish state in the middle east.”

Same thing can be said about Israelis and their inability to accept a Palestinian State.

You might not feel as an occupier but those that have been exiled and denied not only their homes but even their citizenship might beg to differ…

As for the Israelis having never bombed their own cities, does it really matter what citizenship or creed you are killing when it comes to dropping bombs over civilians? Or does killing another religious group or sect make it somehow better?

“Tears are running all over my face just looking at the Alawi kids who were prevented from their basic human rights.”

Those aren’t tears, Ali Baby. It’s urine. You’re standing on your head, dumbass. And as for your “poor” Alawi kids, they go to the back of the line where they belong and wait there until everyone else gets their rights.

I will not dwell much on it being so ridiculous. But, here’s what you deserve as a response.

You made two points which you numbered as 1 and 2 and that’s all you wanted to say in your long meaningless rant.

In point 1 you express frustration and anger because no one here seems to want to debate religion with you. And you seem to blame others for refusing to do so. The truth of the matter, you are not qualified to engage in such debate. You repeatedly showed a propensity to distort facts, language and history in order to suite your own readings which was proven to be false by me and others as well.

In your point 2, you attack Muslims by charging that they disregard life in order to obey the Creator and the Holy Prophet. Allah IS the Source of ALL life. While the fathers of the American constitution value life in general, their sanctification of such life is deficient if it doesn’t recognize its Ultimate Source as our great Father Ibrahim (PBUH) replied to Nimrud. That’s why America is doomed unless it submits to the Will of Allah and incorporates this submission into a reformed constitution.

As to your ridiculous remark about Nouri and Nawari, go and learn the different Arabic slangs and accents, then come back and argue, otherwise STFU.

AGAIN, remember this every time you try to OSTENSIBLY debate religion:

Darryl
Before you make assertions please learn about Islam correctly, and remove the blinding curtain that makes you completely in the dark, Islam is completely for morally accepted freedom, I don’t think you even know the definition of freedom, let alone Justice both are the halmark of Islam next to believing in God,you represent the utmost hate any human can have, and you are full of hate generated energy(KAID) as we say in Arabic, you twist the words of Quraan,and interpret Quraan the way you want not the way it is written,people like you are full of KAID.
Your bible is full of contradictions, Quraan there is no contradiction.

Qusair and Homs are full of Hezbo thugs in addition to regime criminals. Any victory in this region is equivalent to hundred times any other victory.

The time is running out for the thug(s) occupying Damascus. Soon our holy warriors will control the corridor from Damascus to the coast leaving all the thugs stranded in Damascus for the Damascenes to devour.

Of course it matters who you bomb. Truman bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, not New York and Washington. Assad bombs Homs and Aleppo. How crazy is that?

When terrorists hold someone hostage in your own country you deal with it completely differently from when enemy fighters hide behind civilians in an enemy country. It is a completely different moral problem. Bombing civilians just for the sake of bombing them is of course immoral, but civilians dying as collateral damage is a consequence of war. That is why countries at war should build shelters for their people like Israel does. I never understood why you don’t build shelters in the Arab world and then complain that civilians getting hurt. Clearly, Arab governments should care about their people more than Israel cares about their enemies.

What does Assad expect would happen after he shoots SCUDs at Israel? To get back rose petals? What did Nasrallah expect, a club sandwich? If you can’t take the results, don’t start wars. That is the best advice. And if you don’t prepare for war, by building shelters for example, then you are immoral.

I agree bombing one’s own country is crazy, that is why I am not in the Athad Fan Club. (Among many more reasons)

However no matter how crazy of a nut job Besho is that does not nullify the horrendous harm inflicted by Israel on innocent Palestinians. Not one bit.

BTW it would be kind of hard for Palestinians to build bomb shelters given the restriction on cement placed by Israel and if they did manage to build them how long do you think they will last given your army’s love affair with bunker busters?

And targeting civilian locations with cluster bombs is not the consequence of war since their is NO MILITARY GAIN FROM IT other than of course to punish the civilian population. There is absolutely nothing moral about that, and please spare me the argument otherwise, for that would make you exactly like Zoo!

In 2006 Syrian missiles defeated the “mighty” Israelis. The world saw the Zionists lose a war. Israel used cluster bombs on Lebanese civilians. The only war Israel can win is against old women and men. Even young boys hurling rocks can beat the IOF with all their American “power”. Israel fears Iran the most because Iran is becoming a super-power of sorts in the region.

Syria is part of war on Iran. Israelis say so.

So when we launch Scuds on the Moslem Brotherhood invasion we are hitting Israeli proxies.

Deputy President of South Africa Kgalema Motlanthe said the only solution to the crisis in Syria at the negotiating table with the participation of all Syrians members – in the interest of the countrys citizens , noting that anyone who rejects dialogue, under any pretext, seeks to more bloodshed.
Motlante said that what is happening in Syria is a repetition of what happened in Iraq, it is – an attempt to weaken Syria, which is the last country to enter into rights in the region.

“The pretexts that were used for the war with Iraq and Syria were different, but the goal is one – of destroying resources and changing them in ethnic and religious terms, to divert them from the development of the state and its institutions.”

Montlante said that the Syrian people are the real guarantee of an end to violence and confrontation of aggression, which is aimed at Syria as a country, the people, its history and its future.

There seems to be consensus that a goverment for the opposition is necessary,and one of the candidate is Ghassan Hito,a kurd from Damascus,I personally prefer military man to head the goverment,.
Assad most likely does not have enough troops to send from Damascus to Homs but at the same time Homs is a very important strategic city for him,Also the head of his army is from area close to Homs.

Apart from difference on ideology and viewpoints, the opposition is down and dirty on its political front. They pack with wolves (Jihadists and Islamic radicals); They are funded and supported by foreign players who have clear agenda in Syrian conflict; They fight for power and money by serving different puppet masters and ride high on sectarian strife; Instead of condemning Islamic terrorists attacks and atrocities, they blame the government; They put on shows and stage dramas on social medias to ”win” supports; They fabricate stories and manipulate pictures; Some of them even make big hoaxes to fool the public; They know they have MSM behind them as their propaganda machine and they play well with them; But as soon as some media finally reveals naked truth about their glorified revolution, they become so hostile and hysterical. And there are more of those dirty tricks and practices, I have to say those opposition members are well qualified to be dirty politicians.

The only legitimate claim they have is demanding for democracy and human rights. Unfortunately, even that legitimacy is eroding by everyday growing barbaric rebel fighters.

Aspiration for better life and basic rights by people has been abused and hijacked since the first day when there was a politician. We have matured enough to see through actions no matter how insignificant to discern the true color of those revolutionists. Fancy terms and slogans are like Emperor’s new clothes.

What was stated many years ago is now being slowly promoted as the news media reports that Bibi will push Obama into using missiles against Syria in “defense”.

Here’s what was planned years ago;-

From the beginning, Zionists advocated a “Jewish State” not just in Palestine, but also in Jordan, southern Lebanon, and the Golan Heights as well.

In 1918 Ben-Gurion described the future “Jewish state’s” frontiers in details as follows: “to the north, the Litani river [in southern Lebanon], to the northeast, the Wadi ‘Owja, twenty miles south of Damascus; the southern border will be mobile and pushed into Sinai at least up to Wadi al-‘Arish; and to the east, the Syrian Desert, including the furthest edge of Transjordan” (Expulsion Of The Palestinians, p. 87)

Apple Mini,
When demand for human rights starts with “application of shari’a islamiyya”, as was stated by many inciters in the mosques at the beginning of the demonstrations, you know there is a worm in the apple. If the possibility to decide if one’s wife is allowed to go out of the house can be considered as a “human right”, then there is strictly no hope about humans or about rights.
After all, polygamy was not forbidden in Syria as it was in Tunisia and Libya, so the whole rhetoric of the newspapers at the beginning of the protests about “Sunnis oppressed by Shiis who do not guarantee their their religious rights” etc was just garbage, like most of what they reported (thanks Aron Lund).

Israel does not use cluster bombs against Gaza. It used cluster bombs against Hezbollah in an attempt to hit areas right after missiles were launched from them. This was a failure as the system was not effective and the dud rate was unacceptable. In retrospect, it was a mistake but it was not known before hand that these would be the results.

It still does not absolve the Lebanese and Syrians from building shelters to protect their citizens. Who was stopping them? Shelters are great at minimizing collateral damage. It is just immoral not to build them. Maybe someone can explain to me why Syrians and Lebanese do not do that. What is their excuse?

It is great that people are waking up to see what a criminal Assad is. But when he was hosting and funding Hamas and Hezbollah and they were murdering Israeli civilians, many of the same people were cheering him on and calling him a hero.

Anyone attacking the Syrian government must die. That’s all. Any government in the world would respond the same way. Syria is under attack by a Muslim Brotherhood invasion. Israelis help them. Foreign jihadis are entering Syria.

Israel used cluster bombs on civilians in 1978, 1982 and 2006 in Lebanon.

They used them on civilians over and over. They used them on children and defended their use on children.

“Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz plans to appoint a major general to investigate the use of cluster bombs — some of which were fired against his order — during the Lebanon war. Halutz ordered the IDF to use cluster bombs with extreme caution and not to fire them into populated areas. Nonetheless, it did so anyway, primarily using artillery batteries and the Multiple Launch System (MRLS). IDF artillery, MLRS and aircraft are thought to have delivered thousands of cluster bombs, containing a total of some 4 million bomblets during the war.”

If this is true I applaud it. Syria needs to take the fight to Jordan and Turkey too. They’ve both allowed foreign combatants to attack Syria and that is an act of war. Syria has the right of self-defense.

Under the headline “An Optimistic Panorama from the Syrian Regime’s Perspective; Assad Tells Visitors: We Negotiate under Our Conditions, Battle in Our Favor,” As-Safir newspaper said Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s visitors have cited a positive atmosphere in Damascus.

Sami Kleib wrote on Monday that the opposition’s seizure of Al-Riqqa did not affect the regime’s morale, as President Bashar Al-Assad assured to his visitors: “The battle is long because we are fighting terrorism, which global powers failed to fight. However, things have improved on the military and political levels.”

“The army has become more experienced of the militants’ movements. Its new strategy requires that it sets the time and location of the battle rather than being dragged into one. This prevented the military forces from dispersing. It contributed in enclosing several ignited regions. It limited militants’ movements in areas where they planned to wage attacks,” he clarified.

“The way of jamming communications changed, and surveillance equipments were advanced, so operations have become topical and painful to the militants. Essential changes occurred to intelligence and military structures. Coordination increased with allies that presented their experiences in the fields they excel in. Public committees, which are turning day after day into a substitute army, took part in protecting areas that the army withdrew from. Russia is ready to compensate any shortage in military equipment. Hezbollah and Iran did not withhold their experiences, which contributed in protecting religious areas, like Sayyeda Zainab, and some villages suffering attacks. Discussions in Damascus are about collaboration of experience not fighters.”

On the military level, “essential changes are being made on the borders. Jordan is committed to security coordination. King Abdullah II considers that part of Syria’s battle today is against Al-Qaeda and Al-Nusra Front, which is a Jordanian battle. Exchange of information took place lately, which contributed in killing a number of leaders and elements in Al-Qaeda and Al-Nusra. The last battle was the one Abu Ali Golani, leader of Al-Nusra Front in Homs, was killed in. Jordan is trying to play a double game, as it is fighting indirectly on the Syrian army’s side against Al-Qaeda on one hand, and coordinating with Western and US intelligence to draw plans for all possible options regarding the Syrian crisis on the other hand.”

Assad’s visitors further quoted him as saying: “We are in a fierce battle against terrorism and in another battle against their supporters. We are aware that the war will not end soon, but we are determined to move forward until eliminating this strange phenomenon in our society.”

On national dialogue, the Syrian president was quoted by his visitors as saying that “we have not closed the door of dialogue, and we will not close it. However, we should know who are we negotiating with? What is being proposed? Who is the part we are negotiating? We are witnessing daily the disassociation of the opposition. We can see that it has big differences. Let them agree, and then we see. For our part, we have begun dialogue with different parts in the opposition inside Syria, and this brought positive results. We have also proposed our project for reforms and are ready to discuss it, and we said that Syria’s doors are open for everyone except terrorists whom we will fight until the end.”

Assad also constantly said: “We negotiate with whoever wants negotiations, except for terrorists. However, it is unquestionable that we will not accept that conditions be imposed on us. We have said that since the beginning of the crisis, and it is apparent that we were right, and everyone is aware now that we were serious about everything we said.”

On Russia’s stance from the Syrian crisis, Assad assured that the alignment with Russia was in its best phase. “Everyone now supports the Russian role,” he was quoted as saying, stressing that Moscow have not changed in its stances since the beginning of the crisis. Since the first day it reassured that the Gulf, Turkey, and some Western states should halt exporting weapons to fighters, and has called for political dialogue.”

The writer added that Assad “does not trust the US role. He is aware that the US and Western schemes are not far from the initial and historic point: Countries of confrontation must be weakened and the US allied states, protective to Israel must be strengthened…”

He indicated that “Qatar is the real enemy for the Syrian leadership,” while Iran and Hezbollah “are the loyal allies”.

Fact: Israel holds the Golan, Assad has not tried to take it back EVER. In fact, it was the quietest border Israel has had. Not ONE shoot was fired during the 11 years Assad was in power.

Fact: Hezbollah has not fired ONE rocket at Israel since 2006. Not ONE. The Lebanese border is quiet and tourism in North Israel is booming.

Fact: Israel holds Sheba Farms but Hezbollah has not attacked ANY Israeli troops in the last 6 years. Nothing, nada, zilch. Peace and quiet. In fact they have not conducted ANY “resistance” attack against Israel. ZERO attacks in 6 years.

Fact: Assad is shooting SCUDs at his own people and cities but not ONE at Israel.

Fact: Assad did not even shoot back at the Israeli planes attacking him.

Conclusion: Assad is Zionist of the Decade and Hezbollah were soundly defeated and neutered in 2006.

#443 The tone from Lebanon is quite interesting. Lebanese government emphasizes SAF attacked uninhabited areas along the border. That defuses any internal noise, also deters anyone on the opposition side to make a spin on civilian casualties.

The Islamic fighters have to cross those uninhabited land to sneak inside Syria. As long as the Syrian army is prepared and intel is passed accurately in real time. There will be significant loss on the rebels and new fighters from Lebanon.

#444 It is quite a fair and comprehensive assessment on situation of Syria by Assad.

As I have believed, this ongoing war actually has strengthened the efficiency and decision-making of the regime. That is what I called ”less impotent” than before.

The insect, Ahmad Luli, didn’t get very far trying to attack a unit of SAA infantrymen. One of our sharpshooters sent him to insect Hell. Good bye. Ta ta!

Along with this fighter for Allah went the following team of vermin:

Mahmoud Aashour

Saamer Hatal

Talal Ali Ghadhbaan
Muhammad Al-Ulabi

At the same time in Al-Saakhour, the so-called “Islamic Canonical Committee” or Hay’at Al-Shari’ah Al-Islaamiyya, fought it out with the “Islamic Canonical Police” (read “comical” for canonical) or the Al-Shurtaa Al-Shar’iyya and wound up killing the judge of the former and 7 of his armed bailiffs after the former issued a warrant for the arrest of the latter. Apparently the “Canonical Police” were robbing the people of the area in the name of Allah and the judge didn’t like the fact that they were not sharing the loot. I have no names yet for these wastrels.

At Ataareb, Awram Al-Kubraa, near the gas station, all in rural Aleppo, the SAA engaged the Jabhat Al-Nusra infidels and killed an entire unit of rodents:

All religions and their ramifications are very complicated as they changed over the centuries with the evolution and varieties of thoughts and historical events in the region.
I tried to make it as clear as possible as it can be very confusing.

“Both are organized according to a federal structure of “Churches” (each with its own head), and do not have any central leadership or any single human leader (unlike the Catholic Church).”

Syrians, like Greece and Russia, belong to the Eastern Orthodoxy, while Armenians and Copts belong to the Oriental Orthodoxy.

Each area belonging to a Church has a bishop who heads his diocese.
“All bishops are considered to be sacramentally equal, no bishop holds any more spiritual authority than any other (thus, no single bishop is infallible), and a bishop cannot interfere with other dioceses that are not under his own jurisdiction.”

“The highest-ranking bishop of the Eastern Orthodoxy federation is the Patriarch of Constantinople, who is also the head of the one of the Churches”
“He has no direct jurisdiction over the other patriarchs or the other Orthodox Churches”

The Orthodox church differs from the Roman catholic in many other ways too.
“With the exception of bishops, who remain celibate, the Orthodox Church has always allowed priests and deacons to be married, provided the marriage takes place before ordination. In general it is considered preferable for parish priests to be married as they often act as counsel to married couples and thus can draw on their own experience”

In summary, except for maronites whose structure is linked to the Vatican, most Arab Christians not recognize the Pope as their leader.

The opposition election of a shadow government is clearly to set in stone the conditions for negotiations and to block the road to the West and Russia in their attempt to force on them the negotiations while Bashar al Assad stays in power.
The message is clear: We want the violent confrontation to continue until full victory.
Their hope is to take the place of Syria in the Arab League and thus obtain more international legitimacy to obtain heavy weapons..
France and the UK earlier promised it would recognize immediately this ‘government’ .
Now it is the moment of truth.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Anas al-Abdu, head of the Justice and Construction Movement said that “the interim government means that the Syrian opposition separately forms the government, which aims at barring other options and the attempt to find a political settlement to resolve the crisis in Syria.
…
But in a stance that could frustrate their Western supporters, including the United States, coalition members dismissed any possibility of negotiating with the current regime and insisted they will talk only when Assad has left power. Many believe the only way to accomplish this is through continued advances by rebel forces.

You know that what you said is a nonsense.
A Alawi or an Ismaeli or a Zaidi does not identify himself/herself as a “Shia”. They don’t share the same prayer places, they don’t fast, they don’t go on pilgrimage to Mecca…
They are very different.
Have you ever heard one of these say “I am a Shia”

Salafist, Takfirists, Moslem Brotherhood as well as moderates Sunnis identify themselves as Sunnis. They pray in Sunni mosque, follow the Sunna, listen to sunni sheikhs, they fast at ramadan and go on pilgrimage to Mecca.
While they dislike each other, they claim loud and clear “I am sunni”.
That’s the identity incoherence that Sunnis are suffering of and that is weakening them.

It looks like all the regimes which supported the Assad criminal thug are about to pay the price for their crimes against the people of Syria. It is obvious that the great Syrian Revolution will have far reaching effects way beyond the Syrian borders. On the other hands, those regimes which supported the people of Syria, such as Qatar and KSA, are enjoying unprecedented growth and development. This is clear evidence that supporting the Syrian people is good while opposing it is bad for any regime in the region.

Other groups such as Ismailis, Alawis, Zaydis, Ithnaasharis, Druze, etc.. also identify themselves as Muslims but in fact they are heretics. Ismailis diverged from Ithanashari as did the Alawis. Zaydis are Shia, the closest such Shia to Sunnis. Druze are Ismailis who fled Egypt after the Egyptians slaughtered all the heretic Ismailis.

So MajedK is correct in asserting that these subgroups are differnt strains of heretic Shiism.

That is why there is only Sunna. i.e again Al-Sunna wu bass wu lba’e kullu khass.

Zoo’s claims about Christians also show that he is an ignorant stupid idiot.

No one is “using the actions of a criminal regime … to somehow justify” our “criminal behaviour”. If that were the case, we would have to explain how the GOI used non-proportional use of force. Considering the numbers dead, the fact that Assad was killing thoousands of unarmed demonstrators, and the Syrian government has no freedom for the population to voice their opinions, your assertion is stupid, but certainly “par for the course”.

My claim stands, one set of rules for Israel, another for arab despots.

Zoo
Can you deny that Moussa Al Sadr said Alawi are branch of Shiaa?.
and if you are against Alawis,basically call them non Mosslems then why are you supportive of Assad?
Zoo you consisder Sunnis as your only enemy.
Sunnis branches are so close, togather they practically are one group,they are the ONLY TRUE musslems,and you are jealous that the prophet(pbuh) is arabic,and Quraan is in Arabic,and you hate Omar only because he defeated the persian empire.

As I mentioned before, Erdogan is extremely wary that the PKK fighters opposed to Ocalan will move to Syria and launch attacks on Turkey. That would certainly hamper his election as president in 2014.
Now, suddenly Ossama al Kadi, a Qatar and West favorite is out. He is replaced by Ghassan Hitto, a Kurd. It’s no surprise. Erdogan strongly favors a Kurd to manage the region on Turkey’s borders.

The question is will Qatar who will pay the bill of this government ( 40 millions a day) will accept a Kurd as the PM?
Is Mustafa a valid Moslem Brotherhood and Qatar’s candidate?

Will Turkey who is providing the logistic be able to impose its Kurdish candidate?
The bets are open, but the whole conference may also collapse if Qatar and Turkey can’t find a agreement.

Syrian opposition meets to elect interim government for rebel-controlled areas

Assad Asseq Mustafa, a former Syrian agricultural minister and governor of the central Hama province, emerged as a front-runner among 12 candidates for the post of interim prime minister, delegates of the closed-door meeting said. Ghassan Hitto, an information technology specialist activist, was also a strong contender, they said.

Both Mr Mustafa and Mr Hitto live in Turkey, a former partner of Syria that has emerged as a leading critic of Al Assad’s regime and supporter of the opposition on the international stage.

Finally, the only way to deal with the comments here is for me to type JUERGEN in “search” and limit my reading to his posts. JUERGEN is of course not the only person I visit but I am not going to hand out good and bad marks since those I enjoy know it and so do those I don’t like.

I felt very honoured to be threatened by… I forgot his name… as if my modest contributions had any weight.

Tara, of course I am with you but why do you lose your time debating these guys ?

The Syriac Church belong to Oriental orthodoxy, like the Copts, the Armenians and the Ethiopians, unlike the other Eastern Orthodox Syrians.

Its head is Ignatius Zakka I “Patriarch of Antioch and All the East Syriac Orthodox Church”. He is also the Archbishop of Baghdad and Basra. He is Iraqi and he resides at the Mor Aphrem Monastery in Ma`arat Sayyidnaya.

“462. ANNIE said:
Finally, the only way to deal with the comments here is for me to type JUERGEN in “search” and limit my reading to his posts. JUERGEN is of course not the only person I visit but I am not going to hand out good and bad marks since those I enjoy know it and so do those I don’t like.”

What real weight has Idriss’s troops in Northern Syria, when the Islamists and Al Nusra do not recognize the SNC? Are we finally going to see the FSA remaining fighters freshly armed by the West fighting against… the Islamist armed by Saudi Arabia for control of the ‘liberated areas? I doubt that Islamists will making it easy. They “liberated’ the areas. Here comes the drones?

In Istanbul, Gen. Salim Idris told reporters that fighters affiliated with his Free Syrian Army, the main rebel group, will work under the umbrella of an interim government and protect its members.

“We recognize the coalition as our political umbrella and we hope this government can be formed unanimously and that this government will exercise its powers in all of Syria,” said Idris, the chief of staff of the FSA. “We consider it the only legal government in the country.”

Idris’ comments sought to boost efforts by the opposition’s Syrian National Coalition to choose a prime minister who will form an interim government. The coalition has failed to take such a step twice before, but members say there now appears to be more agreement that such a step is necessary.

This is exactly what I said here on SC when the NC came into existence few months ago. I said NC must come out clean and declare itself non-representative of the Syrian people and proceed on that basis until Syria is liberated and elections are held to determine proper representation.

Had they listened to me at that time, they could have saved themselves all the embarassments, in adition to all the blackmailing nonesense exercised by the so-called FOS. Legitimacy can only be gained from the people. It cannot be awarded by foreign governments.

Syria about 10 hours ago
Syrian security forces have raided dorm rooms of Damascus University and arrested a number of students after student activists dispersed pro-revolution leaflets all over the the Colleges of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Science.

Eye witnesses confirm the university raid and several students were beaten along with the burning of several dorm rooms.

Al Khatib under pressure from the US and the UN to delay the vote on an interim government on Tuesday to replace the Syrian regime on the international scene. They favor negotiations with the regime to avoid a full chaos.

The meeting in Istanbul this week is a rebuke to coalition leader Mouaz Khatib. He provoked a backlash within the coalition last month when he proposed talks with the regime if it would stop the bloodshed. His move appeared to be a personal initiative.

“The U.S. is pressuring Khatib to wait” on the vote, says Labwani.

The pressure is also coming from the U.N. negotiator, Lakhdar Brahimi, who is promoting the Geneva Agreement, a blueprint for a negotiated settlement.

The international community, including the U.S., endorsed the plan last year. It proposes a transitional government with Assad supporters and the political opposition. Both sides would propose representatives, and each side could veto candidates. But the plan is vague on the role of Assad, who has insisted that he remain in office until an election in 2014.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed his support for the plan last week when he said the U.S. wanted to see “Assad and the Syrian opposition come to the table for the creation of a transitional government.”
…
Amr Azm, a professor of Middle East history”
“After you create a government, you have to win the game with that,” he says. “Once used, what else do you have?”

If this ‘interim governement’ is not elected or if it fails to establish its authority in Northern Syria within reasonable time, the opposition would have lost its last chance of getting some legitimacy.

Under the headline “An Optimistic Panorama from the Syrian Regime’s Perspective; Assad Tells Visitors: We Negotiate under Our Conditions, Battle in Our Favor,” As-Safir newspaper said Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s visitors have cited a positive atmosphere in Damascus.

Sami Kleib wrote on Monday that the opposition’s seizure of Al-Riqqa did not affect the regime’s morale, as President Bashar Al-Assad assured to his visitors: “The battle is long because we are fighting terrorism, which global powers failed to fight. However, things have improved on the military and political levels.”

“The army has become more experienced of the militants’ movements. Its new strategy requires that it sets the time and location of the battle rather than being dragged into one. This prevented the military forces from dispersing. It contributed in enclosing several ignited regions. It limited militants’ movements in areas where they planned to wage attacks,” he clarified.

Looks to me like Assad is bombing the foreign jihadis Israel warned the world are pouring into Syria.

Thank you Israel for pointing out Al-Qaeda for the army. Perhaps you could share satellite data of their troop movements with us? We could compare to the Russian data and see who has better intelligence.

I am glad that you finally admit that all these Sunni Islamist extremists, Al Qaeda, Talibans, Salafists are just like you and that you share their beliefs.

I thought Nasrallah’s words are worthless for you! You refer to him when it is convenient.
Alawis, Ismaelis, Zaidis and others share many beliefs with Shias and they take their roots from Shiism but in practice they are different.

Sunnis like you consider anything taking its root in Shiism as heretics.
You believe that you are the only valid representative of Islam on earth and that you have the monopoly of the Prophet and the Koran.

Here are some updates about heroic achievements and victories by the holy warriors of the revolution particularly those in the Homs area.

A MIG bites the dust while engaged in criminal acts against Baba 3Amr in Homs.

On the other hand John Kerry just announced that the US will not object to Europeans who want to send weapons to Syrian holy warriors in Syria.

Let’s make it clear once and for all. Listen fake so-called FOS we do not need your lousy dirty weapons. Our holy warriors have been able to acquire and/or manufacture whatever weapons they need without your lousy and late-in-the-game useless weapons. But we will only accept unconditional transfer of weapons and with no conditions whatsoever as to who will get to use these weapons. Our glorious Revolution has produced efficient, dedicated, disciplined, organzied, victorious, well trained and well motivated holy warriors who know best how to conduct warfare without need for any input or so-called help from you. So either you give all these weapons for free and without any conditions whatsover or you may just shove them in the widest hole you can find among you.

Syrian people have had enough of your lousy bickering and are not willing to listen to any of your nonesense.

Only a complete idiot fights anyone by bombing their own cities. Assad’s doctors probably cure acne by pouring acid on the patient’s face. Same strategy. This level of stupidity is just amazing. Of course Assad should run in 2014.

I personally do not submit to who is a true Muslim and who is not. It is not up to people to judge. Being a good human being is being a good Muslim regardless of what you call yourself or what the others call you. Labels do not matter and Jesus will not save Christians because they acknowledge him. It is what you do in your life that will save you not who you consider your prophet or spiritual leader. We are drowning ourselves into details and ignore the big picture. The big picture is what matters.

If an interim government of Syria is established on the north, we will be entering a brand new page.

On military front, there will be not much change of strategy except escalating bombing and shelling wherever the interim government hides in Syria.

Much about this will happen on political front, no only the regime is fighting international criminal and terrorist association, they will also be fighting separatists and traitors. It is possible the regime will gain more ground on propaganda and win more supports from Syrians.

Yes, the opposition and some rebels might unanimously support the interim government just the same way they were united to topple the regime. But when the interim government starts running like a government with inner fighting for power and resources, we will quickly see the breakdown and might see violence within the opposition and rebels.

I do not see the regime did anything wrong by arresting university students who openly support the ”revolution” and the rebels during war time. At least, the regime did not execute them on the spot or behead them like the way those rebels did. In rebel held area in Aleppo, rebels call those people who support the regime Shabiha and they ended up getting killed. Some of them were not regime supporters but they were just accused to be so and that was the end of it.

If this ‘interim governement’ is not elected or if it fails to establish its authority in Northern Syria within reasonable time, the opposition would have lost its last chance of getting some legitimacy.

The fool doesn’t even recognize the idiocy of this statement and what does it say about the legitimacy of the buffoon who lost authority to begin with.

I don’t agree with Aron Lund (a Swedish journalist specializing in Middle East issues) on Syria: we approach the situation differently and we derive different conclusions. But I respect Aron’s knowledge: I regard him as the most knowledgeable observer and analyst of the Syrian opposition there is. So I sent him yesterday a series of questions asking for his answers to publish on this blog for the infrequent interview section of the blog. Here are my questions and his answers: I post without, of course, agreeing with him on everything (and without editing):

Q and A

1) Was the Syrian regime, in hindsight, lying when it claimed right after the launch of the uprising, that there were armed groups operating in Syria? And were the armed groups lying when they later claimed that they were strictly peaceful but turned violent by virtue of the violence of the regime?

As far as I can tell, the Syrian uprising was overwhelmingly peaceful for most of 2011. There was of course a fair bit of stone-throwing and rioting, and there seems to have been some organized attacks on government forces in early 2011 (like the violence in Baniyas in April, revenge attacks on government forces in Deraa, some trouble north of on the Lebanese border, and so on). But these things were very rare until the summer, and they generally did not seem to be connected to the main political movement, which was one of demonstrations and peaceful activism. Recall that one of the most popular slogans of the revolution was ”silmiye, silmiye” (”peaceful, peaceful”). That was the mainstream opposition discourse, which people believed in, demonstrated for, and were killed for.

The buffoons at the Daily Star, Michael Young’s tribute to his favorite charity, the CIA, really did a job on Navi Pillay by quoting perennial Liar of the Year Award Nominee, Rami Abdel-Rahman. In an article we posted on our First Post taken straight from the Daily Star we learned that the 70,000 round figure touted by Pillay is exaggerated. Here’s what Abdel-Rahman says:

1. SOHR says 59,584 have been killed in the Syrian conflict since March 2011;

2. More than 6,800 women and children have been killed in the Syria conflict over 2 years;

3. There are 1,086 “opposition fighters” who are not of Syrian origin;

4. There are 1,973 unidentified civilians;

5. There are 4,264 children under age 18;

6. There are 2,579 women over 18

7. There are 40,390 civilians;

8. 1,783 deserters;

9. 14,752 Syrian army soldiers were killed;

Now let’s try to figure out what this Abdel-Rahman character is saying.

It is impossible to understand what this moron is talking about. If more than 6,800 women and children have been killed with 1,973 unidentified civilians and 4,264 more children under 18 with 2,579 women over 18 you have the following total: 15,616

Then, you have 40,390 minus the 15,616 to figure out how many men have been killed, right? You get 24,774. I guess that must mean male civilian adults, right?

Okay, lets take the 1,783 rat-deserters (“defectors”) along with the 14,752 SAA dead and we get: 16,535 combatants of Syrian origin.

So let’s take the 1,086 foreigners and see if we can get at this. I give up. It makes no sense. We know over 30,000 foreign fighters have been killed. SOHR doesn’t even mention that. If any of you have any analysis please tell me. ZAF

Qatar and Turkey are challenging both the USA, the EU and Russia by forcing the delivery of an premature embryo.

For the opposition, this ‘interim government’ if born will mean “make it or break it”
Contrary to Qatar and Turkey who did not suffer the war in their flesh and refuse the humiliation of Bashar staying in power, most common Syrians are just tired of war and they want any settlement as long as peace comes back to the country. The will of the people is for an end to violence.
The ‘interim government’ is calling for more fights and more weapons. The West may recognize it at the condition that it commits to first eradicate the Islamists fighters from the FSA. The FSA will act as a proxy in the war against Al Qaeda and its derivative.

Let’s see if the ‘interim government’ will accept this condition.
If it does, it is shooting in its own foot as the FSA will crumble without Al Nusran, if it does not the West will give them nothing.

If Qatar and Turkey think that they are outsmarting the USA, Russia and the UN, I think they are on for a big surprise.

Tara and Zoo
I believe in God,so I believe in Quraan,In the end of Israa Sourah God said he has NO WALI, and in Zummar Soura at the first page, God said those who take Wali from among people,,,, God does not like Liers and infidel
These two places and many other verses are clear that Shiaa who believe Ali is Wali ,they worship him are infidels

The night before leaving his parents’ home in Wayne, Tex., to join the rebels trying to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Obaida Hitto left a bouquet of white roses for his mother, with a sterling silver locket and a note: “You’ve made me what I am. But now I need to go and do what I need to do.”

Top U.S. general (Dempsey, who is President Barack Obama’s top uniformed military adviser,) urges caution on Syria options, rebels

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 20:29 GMT
By Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON, March 18 (Reuters) – The United States has a less clear understanding of Syria’s opposition than it did last year, the top U.S. military officer said on Monday, in comments likely to disappoint rebels hoping that America might be inching toward a decision to arm them.

“About six months ago, we had a very opaque understanding of the opposition and now I would say it’s even more opaque,” said General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Dempsey, who is President Barack Obama’s top uniformed military adviser, said he would also advise extreme caution when deliberating any military options in Syria – saying the conflict posed “the most complex set of issues that anyone could ever conceive, literally.”

“I don’t think at this point I can see a military option that would create an understandable outcome,” Dempsey told the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. “And until I do, it would be my advice to proceed cautiously.”

Anyone who argues otherwise is only seeking to argue for the sake of argument. We do not have time for such nonsense.

We have been told who is believer, who is munafiq and who is unbeliever by Allah. This was done for our own benefits because believers need to know and distinguish beween who is and is not believer in THIS life and not in the hereafter.

Anyone who continues to argue after this is not a believer in the Holy Qura’n. Instead the person who does that is following a dubious agenda which seeks to bypass Allah’s Revelations. May Allah save the Muslim Ummah (Nation) from such evildoers.

Shiism did not exist when the Koran were revealed to the Prophet, so it is impossible that there are verses condemning them as heretics.

If you refer to the books written by others than the Prophet about him and about Islam then you should believe equally in the Jewish Torah, the Bible, the Zoroastrian Avesta, the christian Enjils?
They are all are reported as “words of God”.

Bad news for Selim Idriss “chief of the FSA” and the ISG (interim Syrian government). The FSA will have to protect Israel from Jihadists very soon as the SA is moving away!

For Israel, Golan looms as war front again

Tension is growing along Israel’s northern border with Syria, for 40 years the quietest of the Jewish state’s frontiers, amid indications jihadist rebels are infiltrating the U.N.-monitored Golan Heights, seized by Israel in 1967.
….
The Syrian regime has effectively lost control of its sector of the Golan following steady infiltration by Jabhat al-Nusra, who attacked a Syrian military intelligence base near the largely abandoned town of Quneitra in February.

On Sunday, Syrian rebels seized a military intelligence base on the Huaran Plain 5 miles north of the cease-fire line.

“In the coming weeks and months, the increasing flow of foreign fighters into Syria will likely see even more al-Qaida affiliates operating in the border region,” observed David Schenker of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a U.S. think tank.

Israel’s worried because it sees new threats on all its borders, anarchy emerging in Egypt and Sinai amid fears the Syrian war is spilling over into Jordan and Lebanon.

Shiism did not exist when the Koran were revealed to the Prophet, so it is impossible that there are verses condemning them as heretics.”

Look MajedK. You have just received the proof for all what you have been saying from the same idiot who is aguing against you.

Shiism DID NOT EXIST WHEN THE KORAN was revealed to the Prophet (PBUH). Threfore, Shiism is NOT ISLAM. It is by such admission a heretic creed.

With this guy you do not need to argue. He is so full of nonesense and so pretentious and so incapable of keeping his mouth shut to hide his idiocy, he will simply hand you victory on a silver platter.

has he not been doing the same thing with AIG all along?

We call this sophism par excellence. Or in Syria, this is called Fahlawism or فهلوية or as the poet said ازداد في الرقة حتى انفلق

Last year:
“Dempsey along with former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and the heads of the CIA and State Department favored the idea of arming Syrian rebels during discussions within the Obama administration last year.”

Last month:
“He told reporters last month he thought it ( arming the rebels) might help end the crisis more quickly and avert the collapse of government institutions.”

Today:
“I don’t think at this point I can see a military option that would create an understandable outcome,” Dempsey told the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. “And until I do, it would be my advice to proceed cautiously.”

In my opinion, using one’s own holy text to exclude others is counter-productive as others have their own holy texts that affirm their beliefs and exclude you. I agree that it was the intention of God to create people different. The differences should be embraced rather than fought over. This was mentioned in Quraan too. There is no way for a human being to decide where the absolute truth lies and citing one’s own book is unconvincing. I have always maintained I am Sunni. I am raising my children as Sunnis. My religion makes sense to me and I find extreme comfort in it but I just can’t claim I own the truth.

“Sunnism” did not exist either when the Koran was revealed. It became a creed after the Prophet died, at the same as Shiism.

“After the death of Muhammad, Muslims who accepted Abu Bakr as the first Caliph became known as Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah or “the people of tradition and unification” in order to differentiate them from Shi’ites, who rejected Abu Bakr’s authority in favor of Ali, whom Sunnis accepted as the fourth Caliph rather than the first.”

I fully support Syrian attacks on areas in Lebanon where there are terrorists hiding and smuggling weapons into Syria

Turkey has been doing that for months on Iraqi territories against the Kurds of the PKK they consider as terrorists.
The USA have been doing that in Afghanistan for years on the Talibans they consider as terrorists.
As a precaution against such attacks, Turkey has installed NATO’s Patriots to protect the terrorists hiding in the country and to allow the smuggling of Jihadists and weapons in Syria in all impunity.
If the Lebanese government, like the Iraqi government, is too weak militarily to prevent these terrorists from attacking Syria’s position or infiltrating illegally in Syria, then it is the duty of the Syrian air force to eradicate them where they are..

OCCUPIED PALESTINE: The Palestinian Popular Committee for the Defense of Syria held a large demonstration at the Qalandiya Crossing showing solidarity with the government of Syria and blasting efforts by Islamist terrorists to serve the Zionist Entity’s program by trying to destroy the Confrontation Front led by Syria. The spokeswoman for the Committee, Saabreen Diyaab, decried the “international conspiracy” to destabilize Syria in order to assist the Zionist occupation of Palestine. Good show.

The guy you are wasting your time arguing with is so idiotic, dumb and stupid, it is just mind boggling. (See 514 above.)

He doesn’t understand the simple fact that floowers of Sunnah are THE MUSLIMS.

Followers of Sunnah do not identify themsleves as Sunnis. They identify themselves as MUSLIMS who follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH).

There is no such thing as Sunni Ummah (Nation). There is only the Muslim Ummah which follows the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH).

The idiot wants to make a Sunni Ummah and a Shiite Ummah and call them both Muslim Ummahs. This is the biggest crap any one can come up with. Allah Glory to Him told us:

إن هذه أمتكم أمة واحدة وأنا ربكم فاعبدون ( 92 ) )

It is clear there is only ONE UMMAH. It is also clear there is ONLY ONE RAB (Lord) for this Ummah to worship. So when someone comes up with Ali as Wali or as god (may Allah save us from this evil talk), he is clearly outside this Ummah. He belongs with mushrekeen or kuffar or munafiqeen but in no way he/she can be part of this Ummah which is sanctioned by Allah the Al-Mighty. This is why Allah Glory to HIM told us:

ونزلنا عليك الكتاب تبيانا لكل شيء وهدى ورحمة وبشرى للمسلمين

May Allah save us and the Muslim Ummah (followers of the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH))again from all these evildoers who can do nothing but idle talk and spread associatiosn with the worship of The Al-Mighty Glory be to Him.

I also read the report by the retarded Duck that the situation is in his favor and that he will negotiate from a position of strength.

Who is talking about negotiations? AL Mikdad of the Foreign Drummer Ministry is also saying that the problem is foreign help to the rebels. He wants them to stop so that they can come for negotiations.

Who is still talking negotiations?
No one is talking negotiations unless I missed some important news. Kerry does not mind others arming the rebels. Regime planes have bombed Lebanon village. ZOO is in full support. I would suggest that the regime army invade Lebanon again and establish a bugger zone ( buffer with a twist ) if it can.

Perhaps the pilot was on his way to bomb the Israeli air base that bombed Thouria Alathad recently and got lost over Lebanon.

Pathetic.

ALI who do you worship? Hafez or the Duck?

Since you are not Shia what are Alawis? Muslim? Non Muslim? A unique religion?
Who says that you need to go back to the mountains? Why don’t you have equal rights with every body?

How come you think that if the majority Sunnis were to participate fully in political life it would mean your exclusion? Democracy is rule by majority BUT with bills of rights and a constitution that specifically protects the minority from being crushed or denied basic rights? Why would that be bad for you and your sect?

Why the hate? What does it serve? Do you hate Sunnis for just being Sunnis? Do you hate for past grievances? Do you want compensation? Do you need an affirmative action for 25 years to make sure there is equal opportunity for your sect? Do you think Sunnis need to have that for a few years after being excluded from important posts?

How come a country of 23 million with oil and talent and a strategic depth with Arab and Muslim support cannot liberate a piece of land the size of a county in the Midwest?

Can you tell me why there are bases for the more than 5000 tanks all over the country? Why a base in Tadmur or in Raqqa? Are there Israeli tanks nearby?

So Christians supported minority Sunni rule in Iraq and support Alawi minority rule in Syria; do you think they should be called to explain their position? I personally think that we should honor them and protect them but a gentle reminder of their fear and hatred is in order now.

How about a truth and reconciliation commission? Heh Ali what do you think? Can you and Majbali bring it on and bring with it thousand upon thousands of years of history to prove your point that there are no Arabs or Sunnis or Muslims or anything and to divide the majority.

There is no such thing as Thouria or Jordan or KSA or Iraq or GCC or anything in this region except sectarian hatred and a total absence of civic duty and identity and there is no culture except that of “how to advance by screwing my neighbor”

The epitome of this is the slogan Alathad or we Burn Al Balad.

Divide it please

Damascus Republic first and last

Cheers today was very bad for the regime.

One final thing
I am scared as Russia is to have a permanent naval presence in the mediterrenean with 5 to 6 ships to confront the combined naval presence of the sixth fleet of at least 24 ships.

The complicit government in Lebanon has proven its inability to control its borders as agreed by all international conventions and laws. Due to this clear violation of all norms, the Syrian air force has begun to strike positions deep in Lebanon territory, starting with the outlying villages around Arsal, striking NATO intelligence cells that give orders to terrorists. Enemy casualties could not be confirmed, but the message has been delivered. Syria does not “bluff”, the strikes will intensify with time and no terror-supporting force in Lebanon will be spared.

I hope the Syrian strikes on Lebanon is the beginning of a Lebanese revolution that will liberate Lebanon from the Iranians. I feel the lack of pride and dignity Lebanese suffered being occupied by a militia that sworn alliance to Iran. How wonderful having free Syria and free Libnan and then spending few weeks summer vacation in Aley.

ISTANBUL: The rise of Islamist groups of various stripes has changed the face of Syria’s war, leading to conflicts between those who back the uprising against President Bashar Assad but have differing versions for the country’s future.

Salafist groups now control much of the territory the regime has lost, leaving in the dust the activists who began their rebellion peacefully: online, in graffiti and through demonstrations.

When the United States deemed the powerful Nusra Front a terrorist organization in December of last year, the Islamist presence among the rebels took many outsiders by surprise
…
There are now an estimated 80,000 Syrian Islamist fighters engaged in battle, as well as approximately 18,000 foreign Islamist militiamen, according to sources. This includes some 2,000 fighters who are members of the Uighur ethnic group, a Muslim minority of Turkic heritage who live mostly in China.

The Nusra Front, along with several other Islamist groups, have designs on turning post-revolution Syria into an Islamic caliphate.

Lebanese Shia represent 30% of the Lebanese population. With their ally the maronites of Michel Aoun, they represent a sizeable number of citizens.

You’re dreaming if you think the Hariri monkey in Paris and his herd can ever take the power in Lebanon. He is finished just like his good friend Khaddam.
Over the years Iran has proven to be a more loyal ally to Lebanon and to the resistance than Qatar or Saudi Arabia who betrayed Lebanon during the 2006 attack of Israel on South Lebanon and did nothing when Israel pounded Gaza.

Lebanon and Syria are right to be suspicious of other Arab countries. They are so weak and frightened that they are neither reliable nor trustworthy.

In the YouTube video below, entitled “A message of victory to the people of China from the Mujahidin Brigade Front,” a Chinese man talks about his conversion to Islam. He introduces himself as Yusuf (the subtitles say Bo Wang) and says that he studied in Libya and helped the Libyans fight their “revolutionary” war. “Now I’m in Syria,” he says, as a song that imagines global Islamic dominion plays in the background.

“The people here don’t have freedom, they don’t have democracy, they don’t have safety,” he says, while leaning on rocks and holding a Kalashnikov with a mounted bayonet. A black flag emblazoned with the shahada, a common banner of jihadist groups, hangs from a tree at the left of the screen.
..
We haven’t been able to confirm whether or not the video is authentic, and couldn’t find any discussion of the footage on the Chinese-language Internet. One of the only related links was a May 2011 post on Baidu Knowledge, a popular question-and-answer site, where one netizen, who went by the name “I also fish,” posted the question: “Excuse me, I’d like to join Al-Qaeda, does it take Chinese people?” He continues, “I graduated with a bachelor’s degree, I’m tall and strong, and my English is fluent English.” A netizen who goes by the name a93524 responded, “Apologies, we in Al-Qaeda require at least a master’s.”

At Binnish where the rats cannot advance any longer and at Haish near Ma’arrat Al-Nu’maan and at Waadi Al-Dhaif near Al-Haamidiyya, the number of carcasses exceeds 120 according to Wael. This area was a killing field as terrorists tried to pull out toward Turkey when reinforcements never materialized. Wael says the MI people monitored the rats communications and knew they had run out of ammunition. That was the end. He will send names as soon as possible.

So a bridge from Masnaa to Damascus was blown up and the route to Damascus is blocked and the trucks have turned back and the Lebanese agriculture minister is in a fit to try to get the produce to go to the Gulf

Any citizen of a country who swear alliance to a foreign entity should be treated as a second class citizen and be given half a vote. HA members should get half a vote each. This is not a discrimination based on creed. There are many vocal shiaa who worn HA of the consequences of their actions and their martyrs ain’t getting 72 virgins because they will be traveling non stop to Hell. And by the way, this is not Tara’s statement. This was a statement by a former chief of HA.

“It is a good day today.”
I doubt that tomorrow and the next days will be too.

This “government” appeared doomed as it has zero credibility in Syria.

Who the hell is Ghassan Hitto, an American who left Syria 25 years ago and only came back in 2012 to look for his prodigal son who enrolled in the FSA?
Does he really think that as US businessman could move to Northern Syria and settle there like in Texas?

Obviously the opposition was so desperate about getting a candidate that they finally picked the Turkey’s Kurdish candidate who will help ease the election of Erdogan as a president, not help Syria.

TARA in a previous post you had said that the shrine of Zeinab should be off limits to Shia pilgrims. I disagree totally. I think that the visitors should be asked to visit in the millions and the proceeds go to expanding and updating the area to host them then to reconstruct the destroyed sections of all the towns and villages of Syria including restoring the historical areas destroyed by shelling like Tadmur and Craque des Chevaliers and what have you.

I would also allow for Iranian oil and gas and for Iraqi gas and oil to pass through with royalties going to rebuild destroyed hospitals and last but not least to make sure our fellow Christians and Jews have their house of worship restored and updated.

The eternal entrepreneurial wonderful spirit of the Levant should prevail for prosperity and freedom for all.

I flip-flop. When I get angry watching atrocities and hear about the shiaa support of Syrians oppression , my blood boils and feel that Zainab shrine should be off limit to the Shiaa who support the regime (not all of them do). When I get calmer, my entrepreneurial Sunni heritage kicks in and start thinking about making money out of religious tourism hiking the or price for those who supported the regime by factor of 100 or 1000. Since I do not hold grudges for long time, I agree with you. I would open Syria extensively to religious tourism.

We will also have two water parks near the shrine. One for women and children pilgrims and one for men.

Ha ha when we free Syria from Bashar’s oppressive Alawi Shia Hezb Persian theocracy we will also open a Wahabi Disneyland. A man’s version with live beheadings of infidels and a woman’s version where select women are allowed to drive cars around a little circle. For the little ones we will have Kiddie Suicide Vests so they can explode with laughter. Something for everyone!

Syria’s opposition National Coalition has elected Ghassan Hitto, a communications executive who has been resident in the United States for decades, as prime minister for rebel-held areas of Syria.

Hitto won a vote held in Istanbul by the group, getting 35 out of a possible 48 votes, Coalition member Hisham Marwa told reporters early on Tuesday.

The vote came after about 14 hours of closed-door consultations among 63 coalition members, with some describing Hitto as a consensus candidate pleasing both the opposition’s Islamist and liberal factions.

Other Coalition members, however, withdrew from the consultations before the vote could take place, reflecting divisions within the opposition.

an interesting choice for a PM of a government in exile, I am still not sure what is the objective of a shadow government beside making HBJ happy, it remains to be seen how Mr Ghassan and his future friends can control the rebels and provide Syrians with essential services. I do not know anything about the new guy or his ideas so I will wait before forming an opinion about Ghassan. I oppose the principle of a government in exile formed as a challenge to attempts to bring fighting parties to the negotiation table, in that sense the new government is probably a war government funded and directed by Qatar, if Ghassan manages to make Qatar and KSA spend money on rebuilding destroyed areas and repair damaged infrastructure then people will see him as a good leader even if they do not agree with the politics behind the government, to me the welfare of Syrians is more important than politics,but I do not know if Qatar can be trusted with anything except sending weapons and buying prostitutes and sport clubs.

I doubt any Iranian would dare set a foot in Syria after the win of the revolution.
The blood of the martyrs will not be sold for Iranian tourism money who caused it to begin with.
Masjid Alset Zinab was a regular Sunni masjid before Hafiiiiz and Batta sold Syria to Iran.who they have turned it into a ” shrine” ,they have also took controls of another Sunni masjid next to the Omayyad masjid and they are in the process of turning it into another “shrine”
Those places have turned into advance bases of Iran in Syria for the purpose of spreading shizim in Syria. And because Iran brand of welayat alfqih ,those center will be under the jurisdiction of foreign power and thus should be turn back to their origin of Sunni masjids no more no less

Netanyahu’s office concedes that it is more likely to succeed in securing US support over Syrian missiles than to persuade Obama to share the Israeli prime minister’s position on Iran. There have been many exchanges between the Israeli and US governments in the run-up to the Obama visit attempting to narrow the gap between their Iran policies.

I think the videos showing Syrians being beaten and killed by other Syrians are disgusting , I do not care how people try to beautify a pig,it is still a pig. we would not have 80,000 dead Syrians if we had a decent government and national army that listens to people not to a family.
The war is coming to Lebanon if urgent measures are not taken, Israel will be the only beneficiary of such a war. The sites in this report are the potential battle fields:http://asianewslb.com/vdcefv8e.jh87eibdbj.html

I’m trying to find a video of Hamza at the beginning of the crisis after the heroes of Syrian army killed then cut his pen1s, could anybody help me locating this file?

This boy thought it was easy to rape to women of army officers in their residence, so he came with other gang members attacking the officers residence hoping for free s3x but hahahah they caught him, did what needed and sent him back hahaha

(18th March) Syrian Air Force carried out bombing runs over rebel jumping-off bases inside Lebanon that are used for their attacks on Syria and its government forces.

The Syrian warplanes also bombed Lebanese border valleys used for smuggling men and arms into Syria.

Last week, the Syrian government warned that it was losing patience with the infiltration of arms and fighters from Lebanon. Monday’s midafternoon attack seemed to underscore Damascus’ resolve to strike back.

The longtime smuggling zone on the Syria-Lebanon border has become a corridor for weapons and personnel destined for terrorists in Syria.

The targets, between one and five kilometres inside Lebanon, were the town of Arsal, where many of the inhabitants support the Syrian rebellion, and the outskirts of the towns of Khirbet Younin and Wadi al-Khayl in Arsal’s barren mountains. No casualties were reported.

Another source alleges that the Syrian President Bashar Assad sent an ultimatum to Lebanese President Michel Suleiman through intelligence channels consisting of three stipulations:

1. Sack Lebanese army chief Gen. Jean Kahwaji without delay since he has refused to deploy the Lebanese army for cracking down on Syrian rebel bases of operation in Lebanon and so stemming the flow of rebel strength into the embattled country.

2. The Lebanese president, himself a former army chief, was required to take responsibility for army action to purge the Lebanese border region of rebel forces.

3. President Suleiman was given 48 hours to order the Lebanese army into operation against the Syrian rebels. When this did not happen, Syrian President kept his word. As soon as the ultimatum expired Monday afternoon, air force was sent into action across the border into Lebanon.

I do not think alawites were served well by the Assads especially after the 1980s when ,as a reaction to the MB uprising in Hama, the regime became less tolerant and more brutal against its opponents, corruption was rampant and nobody in Syria believed that their government can be held accountable . It is simply not true that every Syrian who was captured or killed by the regime was a criminal or a terrorist, Syrian prisons were filled with decent people who were charged with ” trying to change the regime by force” and often were never charged with any crime. I have no respect for anybody who wants people to believe that we had a good government in Syria, the tragedy is, at this rate Syria will indeed be worse than what it was under Assad , ask Iraqis whether they are better off under Maliki, third world countries go from one extreme to the other.

The significant development in the last couple days is about the air strike closed or inside Lebanon by SAF. Not this newly elected interim government PM. Let those opposition and rebel fighters straighten it out.

We shall see what reaction from Lebanese government, the Sunni in Lebanon and other countries.

Infiltration from Lebanon is coordinated and strategic move by the rebels. It is a serious threat and the regime is fully aware of it.

When any country tries to spin it as a violation to sovereignty, especially from Turkey, just brush them off.

The air strike is not even considered to be retaliation, it is a pure prevention and natural response to violation by those Sunni fighters in Lebanon.

Alawi Shiek “Yousef Rab’o Abu Taqa (يوسف ربعو ابو طاقة) and his shrine is in Mesyaf next to Hama.

This Sheik is still alive in his grave and people hear him reciting our readings every night. Another miracle is that there’s a hatch in one of the shrine’s wall which leads to the outer yard, it’s a small size hatch but with God’s power it becomes elastic so either it enlarges letting big fat people passing through or shrinks to squeeze even skinny tinny people. It all depends on the truth and honest of the person who’s trying to pass through.

So if there’s a problem of any sort (like people accused of stealing or adultery) they bring the accused to this shrine to give the submission to Sheik Abu Taqa, making the oath then try to pass through. It the person passes through then he’s saying the truth otherwise if he’s a liar the hatch will squeeze him for the whole night.

I challenge your opposition leaders to go through this hatch to show their honesty and truth and if any of them passes through I’ll side next to the revolution and convert to be a Sunni.

[…] deal with important issues, but they disregard an important fact: the FSA doesn’t really exist. http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18104 (Video) On Uprising’s Anniversary, a Syrian Opposition Voice Says Country is Victim of a […]

Heavy fighting now reported in Saraaqeb which is about to be liberated from the stench of the Tunisian apes who have taken a liking to its ice cream factories. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. In clashes with both SAA and National Defense Forces, actual counted dead carcasses belonging to the plague-carrying green monkeys of Africa and their few Syrian enablers reached 88! The Tunisians and other foreigners, again, were not carrying papers. Some were burned to a crisp – this practice becoming more common as the terrorists continue to hide the true nature of this very “uncivil” war. Wael says the Jihadists are some of the worst fighters the SAA has ever confronted. Not only are they inexperienced and poorly trained, they make great target practice since they truly believe they are on their way to some luncheon with the Prophet in Heaven. What they do not know is that they’re going nowhere but to Hell!

Ghassan Hito is more educated than Khatib,specially he is Math graduate and MBA,people like him are very smart people, he has better charisma,he is a rising star,US should have no problem working with him,he is definitely not radical,this is excellent choice.
Syria has great people who can lead Mr. Hito is one of them

I would say it is poor photo shop and a nice Bollywood fourth rate movie.

ALI please explain to me this Alawi sheikh who is still alive and talking from his grave. Does he predict the future? Does he tell someone whether his/her spouse is cheating? Does he solve medical issues?

How do I communicate with him if I need to?

So Rev is saying that Hamza’s father thanked the Prethident for torturing and killing his son as he needed ” discipline”

So grace us with how you discipline your children; do you torture them or you make them torture small animals?

Distraction distraction oh my oh my even the pro regime sites are being very reluctant to take up the “chemical” attack.

Funny that no newspaper picked that his son Obeida joined the FSA in 2012 and was the object of a NY times article. CNN just mentioned that the eldest son was wounded in Syria… Maybe they don’t want to publicize that Obeida Hitto, 25, a US citizen, joined a terrorist organization?

The night before leaving his parents’ home in Wayne, Tex., to join the rebels trying to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Obaida Hitto left a bouquet of white roses for his mother, with a sterling silver locket and a note: “You’ve made me what I am. But now I need to go and do what I need to do.”

Hito family is still small one in Damascus, the grand father came from Heet,Iraq he was rich and had a lot of sheeps,he initially prospered in Damascus,and lived in Rukn al deen, however bad luck hit after that due to bad weather and most of his sheeps died,,,he had four sons,their children are successful ,lawyers,doctors and dentists,and Ghassan is Math and MBA graduate.
He is shrewed person,very intelligent and charismatic, he can work with US ,and US can trust him, he is not radical,I don’t know of any Hito who pray regularly,he is sunni moslem,however.most understand kurdish a little,but never speak it and they don’t know how to write it, his grand mother is from famous family in Damascus.
He was elected by 35 out of 49 this is 71%

Hitto is clearly Erdogan’s perfect candidate: US citizen, Kurd, businessman, Islamist.
He is also very good for HBJ.

Erdogan hopes
– he will quell the PKK fighters in Syria who oppose Ocalan’s capitulation to ensure his election as Turkey president in 2014
– He will be in close connection with the CIA and the US government and get their confidence
– He will push for a non-fly zone so refugess in Turkey could go back to Syria
– He will bring international legitimacy to the ISG
– He will bring big business of reconstruction to Turkey and Qatar after the war
– He is an ‘moderate’ Islamist business oriented just like Erdogan

The questions:
– Will he be able to set up the ISG on Syria’s liberated areas as promised
– Will he be able to get some credibility with common Syrians
– Will his US citizenship hinders his acceptance by the FSA
– will he be able to quell the Al Nusra terrorists
– will he close his enterprise in the USA?
– He is a family man, will his wife Suzanne who has a job in the USA and his children, move to Syria?

His few words to CNN:
“I miss my family….” are not a good omen for a man who has to face a gigantic task to stop a war and rebuild a nation.

High political expectations and high reservations from the military: “To succeed, it needs a professional army”

“Hitto also said the opposition should take the Syrian government’s seat at the UN and the Arab League and have control over Syrian embassies.

“The election of a prime minister will help remove the legitimacy of the Assad regime if the international community recognizes the new government,” Brigadier-General Mustapha al- Sheikh, one of the first senior officers to defect from the Syrian army, said in an interview from close to the Turkish border.

“But for the government to succeed, it should unite Syrian guns under a professional army,” he added. “The civilian rebels do not have the experience or the discipline to act like professional troops.”

“No one is “using the actions of a criminal regime … to somehow justify” our “criminal behaviour”. If that were the case, we would have to explain how the GOI used non-proportional use of force. Considering the numbers dead, the fact that Assad was killing thoousands of unarmed demonstrators, and the Syrian government has no freedom for the population to voice their opinions, your assertion is stupid, but certainly “par for the course”.”

Sorry you keep excusing Israel’s actions by pointing at Assad’s actions, as if his actions somehow makes the bloody killing that Israel has on its hands as “self defence”.

As for your proportional response bullsh*t, what is proportional about killing the daughters of Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, how about the killing of 9 activists trying to bring humanitarian aid into Gaza? Or the consistent use of incendiary Cluster munitions on civilian targets?

Yes if you compare Assad’s actions to Israel’s then Israel does not seem “so bad”, but that comparison is morally bankrupt it is akin to me saying well Stalin is not so bad if you compare him to Hitler! Wrong is wrong not matter how many or how little you kill.

And for the record, it is in extremely bad taste to use the lives of Syrian martyrs (some of which are my own blood) to somehow make a case for Israel. It shows how full of yourself you are, and how your own hubris is blinding you. From my point of view that assertion is really nasty and disgustingly low.

If it is proven that the rebels are using chemical weapons, that’s the end of the UK and France plans to arm them… and the beginning of a new phase in the war, where the ‘bad guys’ may not be the Syrian army anymore.

“The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based watchdog, confirmed that a ground-to-ground missile had been fired at a Syrian army position in Khan al-Assal, but there was no information on whether it contained chemical material.

The group said the incident had killed 16 soldiers and 10 civilians.

“I’m not able to confirm if the missile contained chemical materials or not,” the group’s director Rami Abdel Rahman said.”
…
“The UK is clear that the use or proliferation of chemical weapons would demand a serious response from the international community and force us to revisit our approach so far,” a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.

I doubt even if it were “confirmed” (do you want CNN to confirm it I wonder?) the terrorists used chemical weapons – and it was confirmed when the Syrian government announced it – this will not stop the UK or France from arming them.

It isn’t like the British or French care about law. The terrorists will deny they used them and their media assets will repeat the lie over and over.

Something else, people who should know better forget that France and the UK have been arming the terrorists the entire time.

If there is slight doubt that the rebels used chemical, a red line for the international community, I don’t tink that UK and France will take the risk of helping the rebels with long range missiles launcher that could reach Israel.
If there is a confirmation, I expect Russia to call for an emergency meeting of the UNSC to discuss the kind of weapons France and UK plan to want to give to the rebels

The ministry said the attack represented an “extremely dangerous” development in the two-year Syrian crisis. It said the rebels detonated a munition containing an unidentified chemical agent early Tuesday in the province of Aleppo. It didn’t give further details.

Are you saying that the West doesn’t know that the people they’re arming right now – not in the future but right now and for the past two years – are terrorists? That they are Jabhat al-Nusra/Al-Qaeda?

That’s not possible.

Let’s think it over. The SAA guards their strategic weapons and so far none have been captured. Even if captured you would need missile codes etc. to launch any sort of long range, and even short range, missiles. Be that as it may the terrorists *could* (with NATO’s help, which they have) capture missiles and arm them with chemical weapons and send them to Israel right? Never would happen. The terrorists are allies with Israel. The West has ZERO concern of the rats attacking Israel. None. Israel has set up a hospital to take care of the wounded rats. They are allies.

Obama has told the terrorists “don’t you dare attack Israel ever or no weapons” and they have no choice but to obey him.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt etc has not fired a single bullet into Palestine to free her from the occupier. Nothing. The only ones who have done anything are Iran-Syria-Hezbollah. Not one so-called Arab nation has done one thing for Palestine except Syria.

The terrorists could attack Damascus with chemical weapons and the West might condemn it but they’d keep the weapons flowing.

The US murdered how many Iraqis again? Didn’t they use white phosphorous in Fallujah?

Israel violates Lebanese airspace daily. The US doesn’t condemn it.

You’re barking up the wrong tree if you think the West will care what they terrorists use to destroy Syria. The West is the one telling them to destroy Syria and making it possible to do so.

Of course the West knows, and they are ready to help the terrorists settle the West’s account with Bashar al Assad who has been humiliating them for 2 years.
I also agree that no one will move if Syria is destroyed to ashes.

…. as long as it does not threaten Israel or Jordan and to a lesser degree Lebanon.

I am sure that some of the Al Nusra fighters joined in “to free Al Aqsa” . Even if they are a minority, they could very well divert the chemical attacks toward Israel.
Even if there is a very small chance it happens, the USA will not take it. This is why until now the USA has been reluctant to help the rebels. They’ll be even less inclined if there are rumors of use of chemical weapons by the rebels.

I don’t think that al Nusra is allied to the USA. They are just been used as the Islamist fighters were used in Afghanistan to kick out the Soviets to be hunted afterwards.

A photographer working for Reuters in Aleppo reported that the witnesses of the attack complain of a strong smell of chlorine near the epicenter of the attack. Reportedly, people had breathing problems and some of them died of suffocation.

“They said that people were suffocating in the streets and the air smelt strongly of chlorine,” the photographer said, stressing that most of the victims he saw while visiting the University of Aleppo hospital and the al-Rajaa hospital were women and children.

“People were dying in the streets and in their houses,” he said by phone.

“According to information coming from Damascus, the armed opposition used chemical weapons early in the morning on March 19 in the province of Aleppo,” says a statement published on the Russian Foreign Ministry website.

[…] [2] Following an exceptionally well written piece by Aron Lund I have decided that I will refer to the Syrian Free Army as a collective term for anti-government forces as opposed to a central organisation with a clear structure and hierarchy of command: http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=18104 […]

[…] Aron Lund writes that “the Free Syrian Army doesn’t exist”, describing it as a Turkish intelligence operation and naming nine of its supposed supreme leaders who “keep appearing in the media as representatives and leaders of the FSA”, but “none of them have any boots on the ground.” […]

[…] FSA has become a label slapped on any rebel group operating within Syria, with most media sources ignoring how disconnected these groups are with the original group or how ideologically different so…. A few of these ‘FSA fighters’ are from extremist groups with links to Islamist terrorist […]

[…] of the Islamists. Indeed, support of the FSA doesn’t actually mean much considering that the FSA is just a calling card for a collection of groups. The very FSA brand was created before the present civil war. A recent article puts it this […]

[…] report on the FSA does not seem to include a global estimate. Lund in his article on the FSA (16 March 2013) underlines that “If all the factions which have declared in favor of Idriss were added up, […]

”O ye who believe!Fight the unbelievers who are near to you and let them find harshness in you:and know that God is with those who fear Him.”(At Taubah 9:123)

1.Revolution is a total change in a political system or a system of human’s life which occured in a short period of time.(Al Isra’ 17:81)

2.Revolution begins with an individual and then society.An example of revolution for a Muslim is the soul revolution of Umar r.a.,from hating Muhammad s.a.w. to loving whole-heartedly.(Ta Ha 20:1-5)

3.It is the right for every Muslim to launch revolution and war to the kafir and oppresive government like Malaysia,Indonesia and The United States of America.The purpose of the revolution is to destroy the power of kafir and bring back the power of Islam and the recognition of God’s sovereignty only,ultimately taking mankind out of the syirk of a system of men worshipping men.The model for the Islamic country must follow the Four Rightly Guided Khalifah.
(Al Fatihah 1:2 Al Baqarah 2:193 At Taubah 9:33)

4.The main revolution that happened throughout the world since more than 200 years ago was done by Illuminati through Masonic agents whether it was French Revolution,American,Russian,China,Iran,and the latest is Arab Revolution.
(Al Anfal 8:73)

5.The Arab Revolution is fully manipulated by the Jews through their agents whether they are Freemason,Syiah,Wahhabi/Salafi(Saudi Arabia),CIA and Muslim Brotherhood. (Al Anfal 8:73)

6.The Egyptians generally were fooled just like that because they didn’t realize that Hosni Mubarak,Mohammed Mursi and General Al Sisi,all of them are agents of the Jews.They have been deceived by the ’Jewish drama’.In Syria,the Islamic fighters that were fighting Bashar Al Assad were manipulated and controlled by the Jews through the supply of weapons for them.While in Malaysia and other countries,the Muslims were fooled by the media,crooked scholars,politicians and academicians(lectures and sermons).(Az Zukhruf 43:54)

7.The Jews also wanted a revolution in Malaysia through their agent,Anwar Ibrahim but it didn’t work because there’s individual here that interrupted their games.Thus the revolution through Anwar cannot be continued.(Ali ’Imran 3:54)

8.If there will be any revolution,it must follow the Islamic perspective,making sure that ALL FREEMASONS in the Cabinet,opposing parties,the ministers,presidents,sultans,police,military,corporates,and academicians are KILLED AND ANNIHILATED ENTIRELY.They cannot be forgiven forever.Anyone who oppose also must be killed.No compromy.
(Al Baqarah 2:193 An Nisa’ 4:115 At Taubah 9:123)

9. When any economic crisis,riot or conflicts occured which are created by the Jews,the Muslims must make sure that the Freemasons above are killed wherever they are found.Burn or bomb Rotary Club and Lions Club.(Al Maidah 5:33)

10.After the killings of all Freemasons,make sure that the Chinese,Indians and other infidels must be put on a jizyah(poll tax).If they resist,fight them.Jihad.
(At Taubah 9:29)

11.The same revolution movement must happen throughout the world.When the kafir power has been removed,combine Muslim countries like Malaysia and Indonesia.This can be done by combining the military and police forces to become Muslim soldiers.This combination is used to challenge and destroy other kafir countries like Singapore,Brunei,Thailand,Vietnam,and the rest of countries of the world.
(Al Baqarah 2:193 At Taubah 9:33,123)

12.In this revolution,the struggle in any organization like Muslim Brotherhood,Hizbut Tahrir,Democrats,Republican or any political parties are pointless.These organizations were created by the Jews and they are kafir organization.
(Ali ’Imran 3:105 Ar Rum 30:31,32)

13.If the Freemasons are not killed and annihilated,this means that the revolution is pointless and has failed.Be careful so that the revolution is not manipulated by the Jews.Identify the Hypocrites among you and kill them.The failure to identify the Hypocrites is the biggest mistake.
(Al Baqarah 2:8-20 An Nisa’ 4:138,139,142,143 At Taubah 9:44,45 Al Fath 48:15)

14.The Arab Revolution is the beginning of World War Three where countries will combine to make alliances just like World War Two.This combination is manipulated by the Jews.Spoil their games.(Al Anfal 8:60)

15.Every person on this planet is trapped by the Dajjal system which was made to limit their potential.Thus they cannot understand how important this writing is to their destiny.In this world and in the Hereafter. (Al A’raf 7:129)

16.It is the responsibility of a Muslim when this good and true news came to them,they share and spread it to other Muslims and everyone else.
(Al Maidah 5:2 At Taubah 9:122 Al ’Asr 103:1-3)

17.The Muslims will be able to build a true Islamic country and rule the world IF AND ONLY IF they follow all the roads which was prescribed in this writing.Insyaallah.(Al Fath 48:1-7)

”God hath promised the Hypocrites,men and women,and the rejecters of Faith,the fire of Hell:therein shall they dwell:sufficient is it for them:for them is the curse of God,and an enduring punishment.”(At Taubah 9:68)